■ 


Bgamenttcus,  Bristol, 
<3orQeana,  J^ork 

AN      ORATION 

DELIVERED  BY  THE 

Hon.    JAMES    PHINNEY    BAXTER, 

President  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society 

IN 

YORK,  MAINE, 


ON   THE 


Two   Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary 
of  the   Town, 

Together  with  a  Brief  History  of  York  and  a  Descriptive 
Account  of  the  Celebration  of  this  Anniversary, 

with  A 

Complete  Index  op  Names  and  Historic  Events 
AUGUST    5,    1902 


Published  by  the  Old  York  Historical  and 

Improvement  Society,  York,  Maine 

1904 


flDarfts  printing  Ibouee, 
tPovtlanCt,  /Be. 


Contents 


Officers  of   Old   York   Historical  and  Improvement 

Society,             .......  i 

Announcement,             ......  2 

Preface,       ........  3 

Flag  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  by  Barbour  Lath- 

rop,     ........  7 

Historical  Address,  delivered  by  James  P.  Baxter — 

Agamenticus,  Bristol,  Gorgeana,  York,          .           .  9 
Historical  Sketch  of  York,   by  Frank  D.   Marshall,  34 
Program  of  the   Celebration   of  the   250TH  Anniver- 
sary of  the  Town  of  York,  Aug.  3RD  and  5TH,  1902,  83 
Card  of  Invitation,     ......  91 

Guests  Present  at  Exercises  Aug.  5TH,  1902,        .           .  92 

Persons  who  Took  Part  in  Historic  Tableaux,         .  94 

Commemorative  Exercises  on  Village  Green,     .           .  96 

Address  by  Hon.  Edward  C.  Moody,        ...  96 

Remarks  by  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith,  President  of  the 

Day, 97 

Citizens'  Welcome,  by  Hon.  John  C.  Stewart,            .  99 

Address  by  Gen.  Joshua  h.  Chamberlain,  .           .           .  104 

Address  by  President  Tucker,  of  Dartmouth  College,  108 

Remarks  by  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed,          .           .           .  no 

Address  by  Francis  Lynde  Stetson,  Esq.,  .           .           .  in 

Address  by  Mr.  Thomas  Nelson  Page,    .           .           .  113 

Remarks  by  Mr.  Samuel  L.  Clemens  (Mark  Twain),     .  119 
Reception  to  Maine  Historical  Society  at  Coventry 

Hall,            .......  121 

Sketch  of  the  Congregational  Churches  and  Minis- 
ters of  York,  a  Paper  Read  by  the  Rev.  Sidney 

K.  Perkins,       .......  122 


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©fffcers 


OF  THE 


®l&  H)ork  Historical  anfc  Improvement  Society, 

3PO*  tf(e  \|ear  1903-4. 


President  : 
The  Rev.  FRANK  SEWALL,  D.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Vice  Presidents: 

First— WALTER  M.  SMITH,  Esq.,  Stamford,  Conn. 
Second— Capt.  JOHN  DENNETT,  York,  Me. 
Third— Mrs.  THATCHER  LORING,  Brookline,  Mass. 
Fourth— THOMAS  NELSON  PAGE,  LiTT.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Fifth— Mrs.  GEORGE  L.  CHENEY,  New  York  City. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer  : 
Miss  FLORENCE  A.  PAUL,  York,  Me. 

Board  of  Directors: 

BRYAN  LATHROP,  Esq.,  Chicago,  Ills. 

FRANCIS  LYNDE  STETSON,  Esq.,  New  York  City. 

Hon.  EDWARD  O.  EMERSON,  Titusville,  Pa. 

Mrs.  ELIZABETH  BURLEIGH  DAVIDSON,  York,  Me. 

Mrs.  MARY  S.  PERKINS,  New  York  City. 

LOCK  WOOD  De  FOREST,  Esq.,  New  York  City. 

Miss  MATTIE  O.  BARRELL,  York,  Me. 

Curator  of  the  Oi,d  Gaol  Museum: 
Miss  SOPHIA  TURNER,  York,  Me. 


Hnnouncement 


The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Old  York  Historical  and 
Improvement  Society  appointed,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Septem- 
ber, 1902,  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Frank  Sewall, 
D.  D.,  President  of  the  Society,  Frank  D.  Marshall,  Esq.,  of 
Portland,  and  Miss  Ellen  Dennett,  of  York,  to  publish  the 
oration  of  the  Hon.  James  P.  Baxter  delivered  at  the  recent 
Anniversary  Celebration,  together  with  a  brief  history  of  the 
Town  of  York,  and  an  account  in  detail  of  the  celebration,  on 
August  5th,  of  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of 
the  organization  of  the  Town  of  York.  Mr.  Marshall  in  pre- 
paring the  historical  account  has  drawn  largely  from  the 
valuable  records  compiled  by  his  grandfather,  the  late  Hon. 
Nathaniel  G.  Marshall;  Miss  Dennett  has  rendered  valuable 
aid  through  her  accurate  knowledge  of  biographical  and 
personal  details.  The  committee  are  indebted  to  the  officers 
and  speakers  at  the  celebration  for  the  kindly  furnished 
photographs  and  abstracts  of  remarks  ;  and  for  generous  aid  in 
publication  given  by  the  Selectmen  of  York,  by  Mr.  Francis 
Lynde  Stetson,  and  by  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  volume  will  prove  a  contribution  of  value  to  our  local 
history,  and  a  pleasant  souvenir  for  those  who  participated  in 
the  celebration  which  it  commemorates. 

Frank  Sewall. 

Coventry  Hall,  August  31,  1903. 


preface 


The  purpose  of  this  little  volume  is  to  preserve  in  lasting 
form  the  events  in  the  observance  of  the  two  hundred  and 
fiftieth  year  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Town  of  York,  Maine. 
Besides  the  anniversary  oration  of  the  Hon.  James  P.  Baxter, 
the  editing  committee  has  also  inserted  an  article,  which  is 
simply  intended  to  mark  certain  cardinal  points  in  the  town's 
history,  in  order  that  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  it  may 
gain  the  general  information  necessary  to  an  appreciation  of 
the  events  celebrated  on  August  3rd  and  5th,  1902. 

The  commemoration  exercises  were  fittingly  begun  on  Sun- 
day evening,  August  3rd,  by  a  union  service  held  in  the  old 
First  Parish  meeting-house.  A  congregation  which  com- 
pletely filled  the  church  listened  to  the  impressive  exercises. 
"Early  Religious  L,ife  and  Customs"  was  the  subject  of  the 
address  to  be  delivered  by  Rev.  Elihu  Snow.  Unfortunately 
Mr.  Snow  could  not  be  present,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins 
read  the  paper.  Mr.  Snow  most  instructively  told  of  the 
peculiar  and  hard  conditions  under  which  our  forefathers 
worshipped  God.  He  praised  the  piety  and  simple  faith  of 
the  godly  men  of  early  New  England  days;  and,  while 
thankful  for  the  reasonable  liberality  and  unity  which  the 
years  have  developed,  he  regretted  the  loss  of  much  which 
characterized  these  men.  Rev.  Mr.  Abbott,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Goss,  of  the  Christian 
church,  sketched  the  beginning  and  development  of  their 
respective  denominations.  Although  both  churches  are  now 
approaching  a  hundred  years  of  life,  and  both,  from  their 
inception   to  the  present,  have   numbered  within   their   fold 

3 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

their  full  proportion  of  the  men  and  women  who  have  served 
well  the  town,  yet  necessarily  neither  denomination  as  a  body 
corporate  had  those  close  relations  with  the  old  municipality 
of  York  which  the  First  Parish  (Congregational)  possessed, 
dating  its  existence  back  to  the  year  1662.  The  Rev.  Sidney 
K.  Perkins  told  of  the  Congregational  churches  of  York,  and 
of  their  pastors.  His  paper  appears  in  full  in  this  volume. 
An  interesting  feature  of  this  service  was  the  singing  of  the 
favorite  hymns  and  anthems  of  the  olden  time,  including 
"Strike  the  Cymbal"  and  "Jerusalem,  My  Happy  Home." 
The  benediction  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Frank  Sewall, 
D.  D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  ancestrally  connected  with 
Shubael  Dummer,  the  first  pastor  of  the  parish  of  York,  who 
was  massacred  by  the  Indians  in  1692. 

Tuesday,  August  5th,  was  announced  by  the  firing  of  a 
sunrise  salute  from  the  old  Palo  Alto  cannon,  and  by  the 
ringing  of  the  church  bells.  At  ten  o'clock  the  procession 
was  formed,  consisting  of  United  States  Marines ;  the  histori- 
cal tableaux  on  floats ;  the  York  Volunteer  Fire  Company, 
created  a  military  organization  for  the  occasion  and  author- 
ized to  bear  arms  by  courtesy  of  His  Excellency,  John  F. 
Hill,  Governor  of  Maine,  costumed  and  representing  Captain 
Johnson  Moulton's  Company  of  Volunteers,  1775;  the  floral 
and  trades  floats,  and  the  school  children  of  York,  in  all 
forming  a  procession  of  more  than  half  a  mile  in  length. 

Hotels,  private  residences,  and  stores  along  the  route  of 
the  procession,  and  as  far  as  York  Corner,  were  appropriately, 
and  in  many  instances  elaborately,  decorated  with  flags  and 
bunting,  amid  which  could  frequently  be  discerned  the 
restored  first  ensign  of  New  England,  showing  the  red  cross 
and  the  pine  tree.     Few,  indeed,  were  the  buildings   along 

4 


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OF   THE   TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


the  four  miles  of  highway  traversed  which  did  not  have  some 
bit  of  color  in  honor  of  the  day. 

The  route  of  the  procession  was  from  York  Beach  to  York 
Harbor;  thence  to  the  village.  The  historical  part  of  the 
pageant  alone  required  the  appropriate  costuming  of  a  hun- 
dred individuals,  from  King's  courtiers  and  Colonial  officers, 
in  full  regimentals,  to  sombre  Puritans.  The  general  excel- 
lence of  the  whole  parade  was  the  result  of  much  labor  by  the 
committee  having  it  in  charge,  together  with  the  willingness 
of  the  many  participants  to  expend  time  and  money  in  prep- 
aration. 

On  this  day  was  hoisted  over  the  Old  Jail  the  flag  designed 
after  the  ancient  flag  of  New  England,  bearing  the  red  cross 
and  the  pine  tree.  The  original  design  bore  in  the  centre  of 
the  cross  the  monogram  of  the  crown,  with  the  letters  J.  R. 
for  Jacobus  Rex.  The  drawing  is  from  authentic  records  in 
the  British  State  Paper  Office  in  L,ondon,  and  the  design, 
with  the  King  James  II  monogram  restored,  appears  on  the 
title  page  of  this  volume.  This  flag,  together  with  the  large 
American  flag  on  the  main  flagstaff  of  the  building,  were  the 
generous  gifts,  in  honor  of  the  day,  of  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith, 
the  President  of  the  Old  York  Historical  and  Improvement 
Society. 

In  the  early  afternoon  there  gathered  around  the  old  Court- 
house on  the  village  green,  in  the  clear,  bracing  air  of  a  per- 
fect August  day,  an  assemblage  numbering  into  the  thou- 
sands. It  represented  not  only  all  that  is  best  in  an  old  and 
thrifty  New  England  community,  but  also  many  hundreds  of 
summer  residents  coming  from  every  section  of  the  Union. 
Upon  the  platform  erected  in  the  shade  of  the  old  building 
was  grouped  as  distinguished  a  gathering  of  men  as  perhaps 

5 


TWO    HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


ever  came  together,  in  this  generation  at  least,  for  a  like  occa- 
sion in  any  New  England  town.  Here  were  spoken  the  last 
public  words  of  Thomas  B.  Reed.  Almost  unannounced  he 
quietly  came  among  his  friends,  those  who  were  his  official, 
professional  and  social  associates  in  Washington  and  in  New 
York,  and  those  who  for  so  many  years  were  proud  of  him  as 
their  representative  from  the  old  First  District  of  Maine.  He 
spoke  only  too  briefly — a  characteristic,  humorous  excuse  for 
what  he  termed  an  intrusion ;  an  allusion  to  his  friend  the 
great  humorist,  which  was  later  to  arouse  and  turn  the  wit  of 
Mr.  Clemens  upon  Mr.  Reed,  and  then  a  few  comprehensive 
words  of  almost  unwonted  soberness  upon  the  nobility  and 
responsibilities  of  citizenship.  Exact  words  may  be  forgot- 
ten, but  their  import  must  remain  fresh  in  the  minds  of  scores 
of  listeners. 

The  memorable  day  closed  with  an  aerial  display  of  fire- 
works and  a  water  carnival  on  L,ake  Gorges.  The  heavy 
clouds  which  overhung  the  water  reflected  the  hundreds  of 
vari-colored  lights  and  rendered  the  display  doubly  attractive 
to  the  hundreds  of  spectators  who  gathered  upon  the  shore 
and  along  the  old  mill  dam. 

This  commemoration  day,  so  singularly  beautiful,  and,  to 
quote  the  words  there  delivered  by  the  distinguished  edu- 
cator, "uncovering  the  human  side  of  this  old  town  which  in 
its  quality  and  tone  matches  so  well  its  setting  in  sea  and 
sky,"  cannot  but  have  enduring  influence  for  good  in  the 
community,  stimulating  a  healthy  pride  in  this  old  munici- 
pality which  has  a  beginning  unique  in  American  history, 
and  which  has  held  an  honorable  place  among  the  old  New 
England  towns  for  two  and  a  half  centuries. 

Frank  D.  Marshall. 

6 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


Gbe  flag  of  fl&assacbusetts  3Ba^  Colony 

Mr.  Barbour  Lathrop  has  kindly  furnished  the  Old  York 
Historical  and  Improvement  Society  with  the  result  of  his 
researches  in  relation  to  the  earliest  flag  of  New  England  as 
follows : 

"The  first  mention  I  could  find  of  a  special  flag  for  the 
New  England  Colonies  was  copied  from  documents  in  the 
British  State  Paper  Office,  which  is  given  with  a  drawing  of 
the  flag. 

"It  says:  'The  New  England  ensign  in  1686  was  a  white 
ground  with  broad  red  cross  and  a  golden  crown  over  a 
golden  monogram.'  My  rude  copy  of  the  letters  is  this, 
(J.  R.).  The  flag  was  something  like  this.  (Here  is  given 
a  drawing  corresponding  to  the  design  on  the  cover  of  this 
book.) 

"In  1704,  and  again  in  1705,  mention  is  made  of  'the 
ensign  of  New  England'  as  follows : 

"  'A  red  ground  with  a  jack  of  white  ground  with  a  red 
cross'  (as  above)  'and  a  half  globe  in  upper  pole  square  of 
white.' 

"Preble,  in  his  'History  of  the  Flag  of  the  United  States,' 
says :  'This  was  undoubtedly  the  earliest  symbol  of  a  union 
of  the  colonies.' 

"In  1737  a  French  book  upon  flags  of  different  countries 
gives  a  picture  of  'The  New  England  ensign,'  with  the 
design  the  same  as  the  one  mentioned  above,  with  a  change 

7 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


of  color  for  the  ground,  to  blue,  and  a  full  globe  instead  of  a 
half  one,  thus  :  J 


"A  pine  tree  was  a  favorite  emblem  of  Massachusetts,  and 
was  used  on  coins  minted  as  early  as  1652.  This  pine  tree, 
represented  in  green,  replaced  the  globe  of  the  jack  of  the 
New  England  ensign  at  some  unknown  date.  But  it  was 
the  flag  flown  over  the  American  breastworks  at  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  as  proved  by  credible  eyewitnesses.  The  pine 
tree  was  green.     With  apologies  for  untutored  drawing, 

Barbour  L,athrop." 


Hon.  James  P.  Baxter, 
Portland,  Maine. 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


Hgamenticus,  Bristol, 
(Soroeana,  H?ork. 


Address    Delivered  on  the   250TH   Anniversary  of 
the  Town  of  York,  August  5TH,   1902. 

By  JAMES   PHINNEY   BAXTER. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  a  town  was  born.  Today 
we  greet  it.  It  was  born  amid  confusion  and  tumult ;  it 
lives  in  peace  and  prosperity.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
is  but  a  fleeting  moment  on  the  dial  of  time ;  but  with  us, 
children  of  men,  it  comprises  many  generations  and  involves 
the  precious  experiences  of  many  human  lives.  We  regard 
such  antiquity  with  respect ;  we  bow  to  it  with  reverence. 
We  go  back  and  with  the  eye  of  imagination  look  upon  it  as 
it  was  in  the  beginning ;  primeval  forests  frowning  upon  the 
shores  of  an  eternal  sea  ;  wild  glades  tracked  only  by  savage 
man  and  savage  beast;  skies  blue  and  bright  as  now,  brood- 
ing over  vast  solitudes,  whose  silence  seemingly  is  never  to 
be  broken  by  the  restless  spirit  of  achievement.  Such  was 
this  scene  upon  which  we  look  today  not  long  anterior  to  the 
natal  day  of  the  Town  of  York.  But  ambitious  souls,  with 
the  quickened  vision  of  seers,  had  pierced  the  mists  of  the 
great  ocean,  unexplored  and  unknown,  which  hid  from  com- 
mon sight  the  western  world.     Cabot  had  set  foot  on  the  for- 

9 


TWO    HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

bidding  shores  of  Labrador;  Cartier  had  mingled  with  the 
strange  men  of  Hochelaga ;  Popham  had  knelt  with  Christian 
devotion  beneath  the  ancient  oak  of  Sabino,  and  Smith,  after 
adventurous  voyages  along  the  perilous  shores  of  North 
Virginia,  had  returned  to  England  to  tell  to  eager  listeners  of 
the  delectable  country  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  New 
England,  entitled  by  a  later  writer  the  New  English  Canaan, 
a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Among  the  earliest 
who  had  taken  an  interest  in  western  colonization  was  Sir 
Ferdinando  Gorges,  related  through  the  Champernouns  to 
Gilbert  and  Raleigh,  who  had  won  distinction  in  England's 
wars  with  Spain,  and  was  anxious  to  see  English  power  estab- 
lished in  the  New  World,  which  Spain  and  France,  unloved 
by  loyal  Englishmen,  were  regarding  with  greedy  eyes.  He 
was  interested  in  the  Great  Charter  of  James,  and  in  the  voy- 
ages of  Pring,  Popham,  Dermer,  Rowcroft  and  others,  to 
these  shores,  and  for  his  persistent  efforts  to  colonize  them 
has  been  happily  denominated  the  Father  of  American  Col- 
onization. In  this  man  the  Town  of  York  is  particularly 
interested,  since  it  was  his  dream  to  make  here  a  great  city, 
the  chosen  seat  of  governmental,  religious  and  commercial 
power,  which  was  to  dominate  his  Province  of  Maine.  Just 
when  the  pioneer  settler  erected  his  cabin  upon  the  wild 
banks  of  the  "Organug,"  now  the  York  river,  no  record 
reveals,  nor  may  we  ever  know  his  name.  For  a  long  time 
before  the  history  of  this  region  begins,  waifs  from  many 
lands,  rough  fishermen,  covetous  adventurers,  and  social  out- 
casts of  all  kinds,  scattered  here  and  there  along  the  sea 
coast  and  contiguous  river  banks,  living  as  best  they  could 
upon  the  spoil  of  sea  and  wood,  and  disappeared  leaving  no 
vestige  of  their  lives  behind. 

10 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


"L,ost  'mid  the  shadows  of  the  eternal  past 
Which  thought  explores  in  vain." 

No  part  of  the  coast  of  Maine  offered  greater  attractions  for 
such  waifs  than  this,  and  knowing  that  a  century  before  the 
date  of  the  birth  of  York,  scores  of  vessels  annually  visited 
the  more  inhospitable  coasts  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador, 
we  may  properly  believe  that  these  shores  so  alluring  and 
profitable  were  visited  and  occupied  at  the  same  period.  Yet 
it  is  not  until  1639,  the  year  of  the  date  of  Gorges'  Charter 
of  the  Province  of  Maine,  that  the  history  of  this  region 
really  becomes  distinct.  There  were  many  settlers  here  at 
that  time,  some  who  had  come  over  seas  to  fish  and  had  con- 
cluded to  remain  in  the  country  to  pursue  their  vocation ; 
some,  who  desiring  to  obtain  land  for  husbandry,  had  emi- 
grated from  the  older  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
others  who  had  probably  wandered  hither  without  any  well 
defined  purpose.  These  formed  a  heterogeneous  population 
of  ill  assorted  elements,  and  being  without  any  real  order  of 
government,  were  turbulent  and  disorderly.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  when  Sir  Ferdinando  was  awarded  his 
charter  of  the  Province  for  which  he  had  labored  for  many 
years,  and  assumed  financial  burdens.  This  charter  merits 
one  consideration,  inasmuch  as  it  confers  almost  regal  power 
upon  the  grantee ;  indeed,  in  the  history  of  American 
charters  it  may  be  regarded  as  unique.  Permit  me  to  briefly 
outline  some  of  its  extraordinary  features.  The  grantee  was 
empowered  to  build,  dedicate  and  consecrate  churches  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  ecclesiastical  of  England,  and  to  control  the 
patronage  of  all  churches  in  the  established  Province,  and 
further,  he  was  endowed  with  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and 
prerogatives  which  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  one  of  the  most 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

powerful  bishops  in  England,  could  exercise  in  his  bishopric. 
Thus  the  entire  ecclesiastical  machinery  of  the  Province  was 
entrusted  to  the  guidance  of  one  man.  But  this,  extraordi- 
nary as  it  may  seem,  is  but  a  part  of  this  remarkable  instru- 
ment. By  it  the  grantee  was  given  full  power  to  pardon 
offenders  against  the  laws  of  the  Province ;  to  raise  and  main- 
tain troops  to  enforce  his  power  and  to  execute  martial  law 
upon  those  who  resisted  his  authority.  It  would  indeed  be 
difficult  to  frame  a  charter  conferring  larger  powers  upon  an 
individual  than  this  charter  conferred  upon  Sir  Ferdinando 
Gorges.  Having  accomplished  what  he  himself  tells  us  he 
had  been  laboring  for  under  a  burden  of  trouble  and  at  great 
expense  during  forty  years  of  the  best  portion  of  his  life, 
which,  it  is  well  to  notice,  carries  us  back  to  the  year  1599  as 
the  initial  point  of  his  interest  in  American  colonization,  he 
proceeded  to  develop  his  scheme  of  government.  The  plan 
adopted  was  fashioned  after  Saxon  models,  which  had  existed 
in  England  from  remote  times.  First  he  divided  the  Province 
into  eight  bailiwicks,  and  these  into  "sixteen  several  hun- 
dreds," subdividing  the  latter  into  "parishes  and  tithings  as 
people  did  increase." 

A  board  of  councillors  was  then  formed  consisting  of  Sir 
Thomas  Josselyn ;  Richard  Vines,  the  founder  of  Bidde- 
ford  ;  Francis  Champernoun,  the  nephew  of  Gorges  ;  Henry 
Josselyn,  then  residing  at  Black  Point ;  Richard  Bonython, 
the  founder  of  Saco  ;  William  Hooke  and  Edward  Godfrey. 
Subsequently  he  substituted  in  place  of  Sir  Thomas  Josselyn 
his  cousin,  Thomas  Gorges,  a  young  barrister,  whom  he  made 
his  deputy  governor  and  entrusted  with  the  office  of  Secretary 
and  Keeper  of  the  Province  Seal.  His  "Ordinances  for  the 
better  government"  of  Maine  provided  for  a  chancellor  for 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


determining  rights  of  property  ;  a  treasurer  for  the  receipt  of 
the  public  revenue  ;  a  marshal  of  militia  ;  a  judge,  marshal, 
and  officers  of  the  marshal's  court ;  an  admiral  with  his  lieu- 
tenant, or  judge,  to  determine  maritime  causes ;  a  master  of 
the  ordnance,  whose  office  it  was  to  take  charge  of  the  public 
stores  belonging  to  the  militia  for  sea  and  land,  and  a  secre- 
tary for  the  service  of  the  Governor  and  Council.  To  his 
councillors  were  added  eight  deputies,  to  be  elected  by  the 
freeholders  of  the  several  counties,  as  councillors  for  the 
state  of  the  country,  who  were  authorized  to  sit  in  the  courts, 
established  in  the  Province,  "and  to  be  assistants  to  the  presi- 
dents thereof,  and  to  give  opinions  according  to  justice." 
As  though  to  deprive  settlers  of  the  last  shred  of  liberty,  no 
sale  of  land  was  valid  unless  the  consent  of  the  council  was 
first  procured.  What  a  door  was  here  opened  for  abuse ! 
But  we  must  remember  that  this  was  in  the  closing  years  of 
the  reign  of  Charles  the  First,  when  royal  power  was  attain- 
ing its  climax,  and  royal  disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  people 
was  preparing  the  way  for  revolution,  as  it  subsequently  did 
with  such  terrible  results  in  France.  But  I  must  not  burden 
you  with  further  details  of  the  elaborate  scheme  devised  by 
Sir  Ferdinando  for  the  government  of  Maine,  but  proceed  to 
review  events  which  followed  the  setting  up  of  his  govern- 
mental machinery.  The  initial  adl  of  the  new  government 
was  the  establishment  of  a  court  at  Saco  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1640,  which  was  declared  to  be  for  the  preservation  of  justice 
throughout  the  Province.  Owing  to  the  lawless  condition  of 
affairs  which  had  prevailed  in  the  Province  promotive  of  dis- 
putes and  misunderstandings  among  the  settlers,  the  court 
found  plenty  of  business  to  occupy  it.  In  due  time,  the 
deputy  governor,  Thomas  Gorges,  arrived  in   the  Province. 

13 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Very  wisely  he  had  stopped  on  the  way  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  Massachusetts  magistrates,  and  to  ask  their 
advice  relative  to  the  best  methods  of  procedure  to  be  adopted 
in  setting  his  government  in  motion.  In  this  he  had  been  so 
successful  as  to  secure  the  commendation  of  Winthrop,  which 
speaks  well  for  his  diplomacy.  He  had  been  informed  before 
leaving  home,  and  without  doubt  correctly,  that  Massachu- 
setts, through  her  agents  in  L,ondon,  was  attempting  to  per- 
suade the  king  to  hinder  his  designs  as  she  was  apprehensive 
that  he  might  be  employed  to  regulate  her  own  affairs ; 
besides,  he  knew  that  many  of  the  settlers  in  Maine  were  call- 
ing upon  Massachusetts  to  establish  order  in  Maine,  "as  if," 
Sir  Ferdinando  somewhat  impatiently  says,  "they  alone  were 
the  supreme  lords  of  that  part  of  the  world."  It  must,  there- 
fore, have  been  with  considerable  satisfaction  that  he  departed 
from  Boston  with  the  consciousness  of  having  secured  a  good 
understanding  with  Governor  Winthrop.  He  was  met  upon 
his  arrival  at  Bristol,  the  name  which  had  supplanted  that  of 
Agamenticus,  with  a  severe  disappointment.  A  mansion, 
large  and  imposing  for  the  time  and  place,  had  been  erected 
for  him  on  the  bank  of  the  Organug  and  furnished  in  a  style 
befitting  the  dignity  of  the  expected  governor,  but,  owing  to 
the  prevalent  lawlessness,  had  been  nearly  dispoiled  of  its 
belongings  so  that  he  found  himself  on  his  arrival  with  little 
to  conduce  to  his  comfort.  The  political  affairs  of  the  settle- 
ment he  found  controlled  by  a  dissolute  man,  who,  under  the 
garb  of  a  preacher,  was  exercising  a  baneful  authority  over 
the  people.  Him  he  promptly  arrested,  and,  obtaining  an 
execution  against  him,  succeeded  in  driving  him  from  the 
country.  His  government  was  now  in  fairly  successful  oper- 
ation and  Thomas  Gorges  was  anticipating  a  long  continu- 

14 


OF    THE    TOWN   OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


ance  of  profitable  authority.  His  administration  of  affairs 
was  generally  satisfactory,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  good 
reason  to  apprehend  disaster.  Let  us  pause  and  consider  the 
conditions  existing  at  this  moment  in  New  England.  Here 
were  two  contiguous  governments,  that  of  Winthrop  on  the 
one  hand  and  that  of  Gorges  on  the  other,  founded  upon  prin- 
ciples wholly  irreconcilable,  which  had  long  been  in  conflict 
on  English  soil,  and  were  soon  to  be  tested  by  the  shock  of 
arms.  Massachusetts,  in  spirit  certainly,  if  not  always  in 
practice,  was  a  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people  and 
by  the  people,  while  that  of  Gorges  was  of  the  lord  proprietor, 
by  the  lord  proprietor  and  for  the  lord  proprietor.  Which,  we 
may  well  ask,  would  be  most  likely  to  flourish  among  such 
a  people  as  had  sought  the  New  English  Canaan  in  order  to 
be  free  from  the  trammels  of  aristocratic  power  ?  Even  then 
it  would  have  required  no  prophet  to  foretell  the  result,  and 
yet  Gorges  in  the  seclusion  of  his  closet  was  shaping  magnifi- 
cent schemes  for  the  future  development  of  his  Province,  and 
watching  with  satisfaction  the  successful  inauguration  of  his 
distant  government.  Apparently  he  needed  nothing  but 
money  to  bring  his  plans  to  speedy  fruition,  but  he  had 
influential  friends,  and  owing  to  a  wide  spread  discontent 
among  the  masses,  emigration  to  New  England  was  rapidly 
increasing  and  this  would  ensure  him  financial  support ; 
besides,  he  had  good  reason  to  expect  royal  aid  when  he 
could  show  his  new  Province  to  the  world  in  all  the  splendor 
with  which  its  future  had  been  pictured  to  his  imagination. 
But  England's  government  itself,  based  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciples upon  which  he  was  complacently  building,  had  long 
been  threatened  with  disruption,  and  suddenly  the  Great 
Rebellion,  which  had  smouldered  unnoticed,  save  for  occa- 

15 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


sional  rumblings,  which  had  attracted  but  momentary  atten- 
tion, burst  forth,  carrying  terror  and  destruction  throughout 
the  realm.  Summoned  to  judgment  royalty  arose  from  its 
throne  to  meet  the  rage  of  a  long  suffering  and  outraged  peo- 
ple who  forthwith  seized  upon  Wentworth,  a  man  of  noble 
powers,  but  one  of  the  royal  instruments  of  oppression,  and 
dragging  him  to  Westminster  Hall  tried  him  for  his  life 
before  the  eyes  of  the  king  and  queen,  and,  while  doing  so, 
regardless  of  that  "Divinity  which  doth  hedge  a  king,"  they 
munched  their  vulgar  food,  and  guzzled  their  vile  beer  from 
upturned  bottles  in  the  royal  presence,  as  if  kings  and  queens 
were  but  of  common  clay  ;  aye,  and  heedless  of  royal  entreat}- 
as  well  as  of  justice,  they  cut  off  Wentworth's  head.  The 
scene  of  this  trial  is  worthy  of  the  French  Revolution,  and 
the  description  of  a  Carlisle.  Not  content  with  the  punish- 
ment to  Wentworth  they  seized  upon  the  sacred  person  of 
Archbishop  Laud  and  threw  him  into  a  dungeon  from  which 
he  finally  went  to  the  scaffold,  while  Prynne  and  other  popu- 
lar favorites  were  taken  from  prison  and  given  a  royal  recep- 
tion by  the  London  populace.  They  even  forced  the  judges, 
who  had  truckled  to  the  royal  will,  to  pa}-  heavy  fines  which 
were  used  to  aid  the  popular  cause.  England  had  entered 
upon  a  reign  of  terror,  and  the  friends  of  Gorges,  upon  whom 
he  counted  for  assistance  toward  his  colonial  enterprise,  fled 
the  country,  or  were  helpless  ;  yet.  undismayed,  confident  in 
the  stability  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  the  old  man  contin- 
ued to  amuse  himself  with  the  puppets  of  viceregal  authority. 
Resolving  to  make  Agamenticus  the  seat  of  power  in  his 
Province  of  Maine,  he  erected  it  into  a  borough,  exempting 
and  freeing  "His  Majesties  liege  people"  therein  from  the 
power  and  command  of  any  governors  in  the  Province  "other 

16 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


than  in  calling  them  as  assistants"  to  repel  invasion  and  sup- 
press rebellion.  The  especial  privilege  of  electing  a  mayor 
and  board  of  eight  aldermen  was  conferred  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  favored  city.  This  board  was  empowered  to 
make  ordinances  for  the  government  of  the  borough,  to  hold 
courts  and  erect  fortifications  for  public  protection.  The 
charter  bestowing  these  privileges  upon  the  people  of  Aga- 
menticus  was  dated  April  ioth,  1641,*  and  on  the  first  of  the 
following  March,  he  had  elaborated  a  still  grander  scheme  for 
Agamenticus  upon  which  he  now  bestowed  a  new  name, 
Gorgeana.  The  borough,  which  was  a  town  corporate 
usually  governed  by  a  bailiff  appointed  by  the  lord-grantor  of 
the  borough  charter  in  connection  with  a  house  of  burgesses, 
he  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  a  city,  by  which  it  might  appro- 
priately become  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  and  gave  it  a  territorial 
extent  of  twenty-one  miles. 

Starting  with  the  assertion  that  he  was  the  absolute  lord  of 
the  province,  and  had  through  God's  assistance  "settled  the 
said  province  and  inhabitants  thereof  in  a  hopeful  way  of 
government,"  and  desiring  "to  further  and  advance  the 
same,"  he  provided  for  a  municipal  government,  comprising 
a  mayor,  twelve  aldermen,  and  twenty-four  councilmen,  to  be 
annually  chosen,  and,  also,  for  a  recorder  and  town  clerk. 
Two  courts  were  appointed,  one  called  a  "Courtleet  or  L,aw- 
day,"  to  be  held  twice  every  year,  "within  a  month  of  the 
Feasts  of  Easter  or  Michaelmas,  for  the  good  government  and 
weal  public  of  the  said  corporation,  and  for  the  punishing  of 
all  offenders,  the  same  to  be  kept  by  the  recorder  for  the  time 
being,  and  the  fines,  payments,  and  amercements  from  time 
to  time  to  be  to  the  use  of  the  said  mayor  of  the  said  town  for 

*New  style. 

17 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

the  time  being  forever."  The  other  court  was  "to  be  held 
upon  Monday  of  every  week  forever,  and  the  proceedings  to 
be  according,  or  as  near  as  may  be,  to  the  court  of  his 
Majesty's  Court  of  Chancery  at  Westminister,  wherein  the 
mayor  for  the  time  being  to  sit  as  judge  with  the  recorder  and 
aldermen,  and  the  town  clerk  to  be  clerk  and  minister  of  said 
court."  From  this  court  appeal  could  be  taken  to  the  Lord 
Proprietor  or  his  deputy,  if  entered  within  four  days  after  the 
decree  of  the  court.  There  were  also  to  be  "two  or  four 
sergeants  to  attend  on  the  said  mayor,"  who  should  be 
"called  forever  sergeants  of  the  white  rod."  These  were 
to  be  "eledled  and  chosen  by  the  mayor  and  aldermen," 
whereof  the  mayor  "was  to  have  a  double  voice."  To  the 
"mayor  and  commonality"  was  granted  a  corporate  seal,  and, 
as  in  the  former  charter,  they  were  empowered  to  eredl  fortifi- 
cations for  the  public  defence.  I  have  given  as  briefly  as 
possible  an  outline  of  the  Charter  of  Gorgeana,  which  pro- 
vided for  a  government  comprising  forty-three  officials,  prob- 
ably more  than  half  the  number  of  male  inhabitants.  It  is  to 
be  especially  noticed  in  this  charter  that  Sir  Ferdinando,  who 
was  a  zealous  churchman,  had  made  Gorgeana  appropriate 
for  an  episcopal  residence  according  to  the  English  model, 
hence  his  intention  to  make  it  a  bishopric  becomes  clear. 
This  intention  exactly  accorded  with  the  royal  order  as 
expressed  in  his  charter  which  was  to  settle  ''''The  religion 
now  possessed  in  the  Church  of  England  and  ecclesiastical  gov- 
ernment now  used  in  the  same,  with  as  much  convenient  speed  as 
may  be"  Massachusetts  must  have  observed  this  with  appre- 
hension and  dislike,  as  it  ran  diredlly  counter  to  her  own 
policy.  Adopting  Sir  Ferdinando 's  point  of  view  we  can 
better  understand  the  calm  assurance  with  which  he  contin- 

18 


OF  THE  TOWN  OF  YORK,  MAINE. 


ued  to  elaborate  his  schemes  of  government  at  this  alarming 
juncture.  Confidently  expecting  a  speedy  re-establishment  of 
royal  power  in  the  kingdom,  he  was  simply  arranging  affairs 
to  take  advantage  of  it.  It  was  plain  that  with  the  restora- 
tion of  royal  authority,  emigration,  which  had  been  for 
several  years  active  in  England,  would  receive  a  fresh 
impulse,  and  where  hundreds  had  fled  the  country  to  escape 
the  rigid  rule  of  king  and  bishop,  thousands  upon  the 
re-establishment  of  that  rule,  triumphant  in  the  vindication  of 
its  asserted  rights,  would  turn  to  the  New  World  for  refuge. 
Why  might  not  he,  the  loyal  servant  of  the  king  and  church, 
by  exercising  the  authority  with  which  he  was  invested,  turn 
this  vast  stream  of  emigration  into  his  Province  of  Maine, 
and  make  Gorgeana  the  metropolis  of  New  England  ?  With 
his  faith  in  the  right  divine  of  kingly  rule  this  was  no  idle 
dream;  indeed,  it  was  one  which  he  might  well  regard  as 
possible  of  accomplishment.  But  we  know  how  faulty  were 
the  premises  upon  which  his  calculations  were  based.  No 
sooner  had  the  tocsin  of  revolution  sounded,  than  the  stream 
of  emigration,  which  had  for  some  time  been  setting  toward 
the  New  World  in  an  ever  widening  flood  bearing  much  of 
the  best  blood  of  England,  stopped  as  though  it  had  been 
arrested  in  its  course  by  the  hand  of  divine  power.  Men  saw 
as  though  a  flash  of  light  had  suddenly  revealed  it  in  the 
long  prevailing  gloom,  a  possible  pathway  to  freedom  at 
home.  Why  then  should  they  face  the  perils  of  the  sea  and 
the  hardships  of  life  in  a  savage  land  when  the  jewel  they 
sought  might  be  found  and  enjoyed  by  their  own  firesides  ? 
Ship-owners,  who  had  been  doing  a  prosperous  business  in 
transporting  emigrants  to  New  England,  saw  their  ships 
swing  idly  at  their  anchors,  while  they  sat  in  their  counting- 

19 


TWO    HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

houses  with  gloomy  faces  waiting  for  passengers  who  never 
came.  But  misfortunes  ever  hunt  in  company,  and  while 
these  events  so  threatening  to  his  fortunes  were  transpiring 
at  home,  his  colonial  possessions  were  menaced  by  unex- 
pected dangers.  A  pernicious  rival  was  actively  but  quietly 
at  work  undermining  the  very  structure  upon  which  he  was 
building  his  airy  fabric  of  government.  This  rival  was  the 
restless  and  ambitious  George  Cleeve,  to  whom  he  had 
whilom  granted  a  patent  to  the  peninsula  upon  which  Port- 
land now  stands,  subsequently  called  Portland  Neck,  but 
who,  by  his  efforts  to  establish  his  claims,  had  incurred  the 
hostility  of  the  friends  of  Gorges.  When,  therefore,  Gorges 
set  up  his  new  government,  Cleeve,  whose  ability  and  posi- 
tion in  the  narrow  circle  of  men  interested  in  the  larger 
affairs  of  the  new  settlements  in  Maine,  would  naturally  have 
entitled  him  to  some  recognition,  was  wholly  ignored. 
Cleeve  must  have  felt  this  slight  keenly,  and  he  shortly  had 
an  opportunity  to  retaliate.  In  1630,  a  patent  had  been 
granted  to  a  company  of  adventurers  covering  territory  forty 
miles  square  between  Cape  Porpoise  and  Sagadahoc  river. 
Gorges  himself  had  named  this  territory  Lygonia,  in  honor 
of  his  mother,  Cicily  Lygon,  but  the  grantees  never  having 
established  de  facto  possession  of  their  grant,  he  had  regarded 
it  as  invalid.  Cleeve  knew  of  this  patent  and,  possessing 
himself  of  the  facts  connected  with  it,  he  sailed  at  once  for 
England,  where  he  saw  that  the  changed  condition  of  gov- 
ernmental affairs  would  be  unfavorable  to  a  royalist  like 
Gorges.  Arriving  in  England  he  found  a  valuable  ally  in 
Thomas  Morton,  the  author  of  the  New  English  Canaan,  a 
man  of  unsavory  reputation,  who  had  been  banished  some 
time  before  by  the  Massachusetts  authorities,  and  who  was 

20 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


now  a  parliamentary  lobbyist.  Among  the  men  at  that  time 
occupying  high  positions  in  the  Cromwellian  government 
was  Sir  Alexander  Rigby,  and  with  him  Cleeve  was  soon  in 
treaty.  The  result  was  that  Rigby  was  induced  to  purchase 
the  disused  patent  and  to  appoint  Cleeve  deputy  governor  of 
the  Province  of  Lygonia,  which  comprised  the  most  valuable 
portion  of  Sir  Ferdinando's  possessions  in  Maine.  With  his 
commission  in  hand  Cleeve  at  once  sailed  for  New  England 
to  assume  control  of  his  government,  and  to  oust  his  old 
enemy,  Vines,  then  acting  as  Sir  Ferdinando's  deputy  gov- 
ernor, for  Thomas  Gorges  had  left  the  Province  and  hastened 
home  to  aid  in  supporting  the  royal  cause. 

Arriving  in  Boston  Cleeve  at  once  sought  to  enlist  the 
sympathies  of  the  Massachusetts  authorities  in  his  behalf. 
Knowing  how  distasteful  to  them  was  the  vice  regal  govern- 
ment of  Gorges,  he  confidently  counted  upon  their  active 
support  in  establishing  his  authority  in  Maine,  but  the  astute 
Winthrop  and  his  associates  were  studying  the  situation  in 
Maine  from  a  more  practical  standpoint.  They  not  only 
knew  that  their  northern  boundary  had  not  been  defined,  and 
shrewdly  suspedled  that  when  it  was  it  would  be  found  to 
include  a  considerable  portion  of  Maine ;  but  they  were  too 
prudent  to  assume  dangerous  responsibilities,  so  they  enter- 
tained the  new  deputy  governor  pleasantly,  and  contented 
themselves  by  notifying  Vines  unofficially  of  the  transfer  of 
power  to  Rigby  and  his  representative,  Cleeve.  Cleeve  well 
knew  from  experience  the  persistent  spirit  of  Massachusetts, 
and  that  without  her  power  behind  him  his  position  would  be 
precarious,  hence  he  must  have  returned  home  much  disap- 
pointed. He,  however,  entered  into  a  contest  with  Vines  for 
the  possession  of  the  government  with  his  usual  energy  ;  but, 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

while  the  struggle  was  being  pursued  with  varying  fortunes 
to  both  parties,  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Naseby,  so  fatal  to 
the  royal  cause,  reached  Vines,  who,  disheartened,  threw  up 
his  commission  and  abandoned  the  country,  leaving  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  hands  of  Edward  Godfrey,  a  man  no  less  able 
and  loyal  to  his  trust  than  himself.  A  decision  by  the  com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Plantations  to  whom  Parliament  had 
referred  the  case,  confirming  the  validity  of  Rigby's  claim, 
was,  however,  the  final  blow  to  the  hopes  of  Gorges,  and,  in 
the  summer  of  1647,  he  died,  having  completed  his  brief  nar- 
ration with  these  remarkable  words,  showing  his  submission 
to  the  divine  will.  "I  end  and  leave  all  to  Him  who  is  the  only 
Author  of  all  goodness,  and  ktwws  best  his  own  time  to  bring  his 
will  to  be  made  manifest,  and  appoints  his  instruments  for  the 
accomplishment  thereof :  to  whose  pleasure  it  becomes  every  one 
of  us  to  sub?nit  ourselves,  as  to  that  mighty  God  and  great  and 
gracious  Lord,  to  whom  all  glory  doth  belo?ig."  I  may  have 
trespassed  upon  your  patience  in  discussing  these  particulars 
which  I  have  elsewhere  more  fully  discussed,  but  I  believe 
that  they  may  be  many  times  repeated  with  profit,  forming  as 
they  do  an  important  portion  of  the  early  history  of  this  part 
of  our  State,  and  here,  in  closing  my  narration  of  Sir  Ferdi- 
nando  Gorges'  former  connection  with  York,  I  may  be  par- 
doned for  suggesting  the  erection  in  this  town  of  a  fitting 
memorial  to  the  man,  who  so  persistently  labored  to  promote 
its  importance.  With  the  end  of  Sir  Ferdinando's  efforts  to 
extend  the  importance  of  Gorgeana,  and  the  firm  establish- 
ment of  Cromwell's  power  in  England,  Massachusetts  felt 
that  the  time  had  arrived  for  her  to  stretch  the  scepter  of  her 
authority  over  Maine,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  she 
found   might   by  a   strict   interpretation   of   her   charter,  be 

22 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


legally  brought  within  her  dominion.  Maine  had  long  been 
a  menace  to  her  system  of  government.  A  continual  effort 
from  the  first  had  been  made  to  make  it  the  center  of  royal, 
and,  especially,  prelatical  power  in  New  England.  A  study 
of  the  subject  reveals  this.  In  1607,  the  Rev.  Richard 
Semour  came  here  with  the  Popham  Colony  to  establish  ritu- 
alistic worship,  and  in  1623,  "The  Rev.  William  Morrill 
accompanied  Robert  Gorges,  bearing  authority  to  'superin- 
tend the  Churches  of  New  England.'  "  So  also  in  1636, 
with  William  Gorges  came  the  Rev.  Richard  Gibson  to  estab- 
lish episcopacy  in  Maine,  and,  finally,  as  a  culmination  of 
the  project,  Gorgeana  was  made  a  bishopric  and  centre  of 
ecclesiastical  authority  for  Maine,  and,  by  implication,  all 
New  England.  The  royal  purpose  as  well  as  that  of  Gorges 
must  have  been  clear  to  the  Massachusetts  magistrates,  and 
they  must  have  realized  that  its  accomplishment  would  be 
fatal  to  their  own  system  of  government.  Episcopal  rule  in 
Maine  then  must  have  been  regarded  with  dread  by  Puritan 
Massachusetts,  which  abhorred  everything  which  savored  of 
Rome,  and  she  must  have  been  ready  whenever  occasion 
offered  to  avert  the  ever  threatening  evil.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  Commonwealth  in  England  furnished  the  long 
hoped  for  occasion,  and,  in  1652,  Massachusetts  dispatched 
commissioners  here  to  assume  the  direction  of  affairs,  and 
Gorgeana,  now  York,  entered  upon  a  new  chapter  of  its  his- 
tory. Go  back  with  me  a  moment  and  take  a  glance  at  the 
town  as  it  then  was. 

The  inhabitants  were  not  like  those  of  Massachusetts;  men 
who  had  left  home  and  friends  for  religious  freedom.  They 
were  here  to  better  their  worldly  condition.  Many  of  them 
cared  little  for  any  religious  form  of  belief,  and  lived  as  fancy 

23 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

led  them  ;  but  most  of  them  affirmed  themselves  to  be  favor- 
able to  the  Episcopal  order  of  worship.  We  find  a  low  state  of 
moral  life  prevalent  in  the  community.  The  courts  adminis- 
tered by  rude  and  unlettered  men  were  occupied  with  cases 
of  moral  delinquency  of  a  disagreeable  nature,  and  the  shock- 
ing punishments  meted  out  to  offenders  of  both  sexes  are  not 
calculated  to  enhance  our  respect  for  the  judiciary.  Most  of 
the  cases  were  for  intemperance,  slander,  the  breaking  of  the 
eighth  commandment,  profanity  and  other  infractions  of  the 
moral  code,  such  as  might  be  expected  in  a  new  community 
made  up  of  heterogeneous  elements  with  no  dominant  pur- 
pose to  unite,  and  with  little  religious  teaching  to  enlighten 
it.  Their  domestic  conditions  were  pitiable.  Their  dwell- 
ings, built  for  the  most  part  of  logs,  sheltered  families  fre- 
quently of  ten  or  twelve  persons,  and  comprised  two,  or,  at 
most,  three  rooms  containing  for  furniture,  a  rude  bench,  two 
or  three  rough  stools,  a  plain  unpainted  table,  and  one,  possi- 
bly two,  coarse  beds.  With  such  conditions  how  could  one 
expect  modesty  and  decorum  to  flourish?  Fish  and  game 
were  plenty  in  the  woods  and  near-by  waters,  and  hogs,  root- 
ing in  the  clam  beds,  furnished  a  supply  of  meat  for  winter 
use,  if  the  bears  and  especially  the  wolves,  which  disturbed 
the  sleep  of  the  tired  settlers,  did  not  destroy  too  many  of 
them.  But  the  wolves  were  less  troublesome  than  the  prowl- 
ing savages,  who  at  any  time  might  surprise  the  sleeping 
settlers,  and  after  nightfall  the  children  would  start  with  fear 
at  any  unusual  sound.  In  winter,  one  could  not  get  about 
except  upon  snow-shoes,  owing  to  the  depth  of  the  snow, 
which  often  compelled  entrance  to  one's  house  by  the  roof  or 
an  upper  window.  Such  is  a  faint  picture  of  York  as  it  was 
in  the  year  of  our  L,ord,  1652,  when  the  Bay  Commissioners 

24 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


assembled  to  notify  its  inhabitants  that  henceforward  the  rule 
of  Massachusetts  was  to  be  extended  over  them.  Of  course 
there  was  a  divided  opinion  in  the  community.  Many  wel- 
comed the  new  government  which  would  bring  them  order 
and  a  generally  improved  condition  of  affairs;  but  there  were 
also  many  others,  friendly  to  the  Gorges  government,  who 
would  not  be  reconciled,  and  some  of  those,  like  Godfrey, 
Josselyn  and  others,  were  influential;  but  Massachusetts  did 
not  yield  to  any  opposition.  A  pair  of  stocks,  a  cage,  a 
whipping-post  and  a  ducking-stool*  for  scolding  women, 
were  set  up  to  accommodate  the  people  of  this  part  of  Maine, 
and  were  kept  well  employed.  The  rule  of  Massachusetts 
was  severe,  but  it  was  beneficial,  and  the  order  that  it 
established,  though  far  from  perfect,  led  more  settlers  of  a 
desirable  kind  to  Maine,  thereby  improving  the  character  of 
her  citizenship.  Indeed,  Maine  owes  to  Massachusetts  a 
large  debt  of  gratitude  for  her  so-called  usurpation.  Nine 
years  after  her  assumption  of  authority,  the  rule  of  Cromwell 
having  come  to  an  end,  and  royalty  restored  in  England,  the 
heir  of  Gorges  succeeded  in  getting  parliament  to  declare 
adversely  to  the  claims  of  Massachusetts,  and  royal  commis- 
sioners were  dispatched  to  New  England  to  re-establish  the 
authority  of  the  king.  The  rule  of  Massachusetts  had  been 
judicious,  and  a  majority  of  the  people  favored  it,  but  there 
was  still  a  considerable  number  loyal  to  the  memory  of  the 
Lord  Proprietor,  especially  in  this  town.  Although  the  com- 
missioners presented  an  order  signed  by  the  king's  own  hand 
commanding  Massachusetts  to  restore  the  territory  and  juris- 

*  The  ducking-stool  was  a  seat  suspended  from  a  pole  over  the  water, 
the  offender  being  strapped  thereto  and  submerged  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  times  to  satisfy  the  sentence  of  the  court. 

25 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


diction  of  the  province  to  the  heir  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges, 
Massachusetts  was  obdurate  and  refused  to  relinquish  her 
claims,  and,  when  the  royal  representatives  appointed  officers 
to  govern  the  province,  Massachusetts  sent  her  commis- 
sioners to  York  to  hold  court,  with  orders  to  arrest  and  pun- 
ish persons  resisting  her  authority.  Affairs  continued  in  this 
unsatisfactory  condition  until  Massachusetts  in  1667,  suc- 
ceeded in  purchasing  the  charter  of  the  province  of  the  heir 
of  Gorges,  which  gave  ample  validity  to  her  title. 

To  establish  the  simple  worship  of  the  Congregational 
faith,  as  well  as  to  foster  education  was  always  a  chief  consid- 
eration with  Massachusetts,  and  a  church  was  soon  organized 
and  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Shubael  Dummer, 
who.  with  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Edward  Rishworth,  a  citi- 
zen of  York  and  man  of  much  note  in  Maine,  exercised  an 
important  influence  upon  the  community.  For  a  score  of 
years  they  continued  their  unremitting  labors,  and,  we  have 
reason  to  believe,  with  a  large  measure  of  success.  The 
history  of  York  during  this  period  of  its  vicissitudes,  its 
struggles,  and  constant  alarms  from  threatened  attack  by  a 
savage  foe  instigated  by  the  French,  who  were  bent  upon 
destroying  the  English  settlements,  will  ever  be  of  interest  to 
the  student  of  New  England  history. 

The  long  dreaded  blow  finally  fell  upon  this  town.  A 
band  of  savages  in  the  winter  of  1692,  led  by  Frenchmen,  set 
out  from  the  Penobscot,  being  joined  on  the  way  by  allies 
from  the  Kennebec,  to  attack  the  western  settlements,  and  on 
the  night  of  February  4th,  encamped  upon  the  wooded  slopes 
of  Mt.  Agamenticus,  from  whence  they  could  look  down 
upon  the  little  village  of  York,  and  see  the  twinkling  lights 
in   the   houses  of   those   they  had   marked   for   destruction. 

26 


OF  THE  TOWN  OF  YORK,  MAINE. 


Some  of  these  houses  were  fortified,  and  a  watch  kept,  which 
probably  deterred  the  wary  savages  from  making  a  night 
attack,  for  they  waited  until  dawn  before  leaving  their 
uncomfortable  lair.  Then  as  the  light  began  to  appear  they 
crept  towards  their  prey,  partially  concealed  by  the  snow 
which  was  now  silently  falling  about  them.  The  watch  at 
this  hour  had  doubtless  ceased,  and  they  approached  the 
doomed  village  unperceived.  A  door  of  one  of  the  houses 
opened  and  a  boy  came  forth  with  his  axe.  Soon  he  was 
engaged  at  his  task  unconscious  of  impending  danger,  when 
suddenly  he  was  seized  by  rough  hands,  forced  to  answer  a 
few  fierce  questions,  and  then  his  head  was  split  open  by  a 
hatchet,  and  he  was  left  dying  upon  the  new  fallen  snow. 

The  savages  dividing  into  two  parties,  now  began  their 
cruel  work,  butchering  men,  women  and  children  alike ; 
"Even  infants  in  the  cradle  were  not  spared,"  says  the 
Frenchman,  Villebon,  in  his  account  of  the  massacre. 
Owing  to  the  exposure  of  York  to  attack,  Dummer  had  been 
frequently  urged  to  leave  the  town,  but  had  refused,  declar- 
ing that  he  would  remain  and  share  the  dangers  of  those 
whom  he  had,  says  Mather,  "Converted  and  edified  by  his 
ministry."  He  was  just  mounting  his  horse  when  struck 
down  by  a  bullet.  His  wife  and  son  were  taken  prisoners. 
Contrary  to  their  usual  custom  a  number  of  old  women  and 
children,  who  appeared  too  feeble  to  take  the  long  journey  to 
Canada,  which  was  the  destination  of  the  captives,  were 
released  when  the  savages  left  the  ruined  village.  Among 
these  was  the  delicate  wife  of  the  dead  pastor.  Her  son, 
however,  was  a  prisoner,  and  frantic  with  grief,  the  bereaved 
woman  returned  to  the  savages  begging  for  his  release,  but 
was  roughly  sent  away.     Motherly  affection  prompted  her  to 

27 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

renew  the  attempt,  and  she  again  returned  to  the  savages  to 
pray  for  his  release.  The  only  reply  she  received  was,  that 
as  she  wanted  to  be  a  prisoner  she  should  have  her  desire. 
She  was  therefore  compelled  to  follow  her  cruel  captors  ;  but 
a  march  through  the  wilderness  in  the  dead  of  winter  without 
suitable  shelter  and  food  was  enough  to  test  the  endurance  of 
the  hardiest  man,  and  she  soon  perished.  Of  the  fate  of  her 
son  no  authentic  record  has  been  discovered.  Mather  was 
moved  by  this  terrible  event  to  express  his  feelings  in  rhyme 
after  this  manner: 

"Dummer  the  shepherd  sacrificed, 
By  wolves  because  the  sheep  he  priz'd, 
The  orphan's  father,  church's  light, 
The  love  of  heav'n,  of  hell  the  spighL" 

The  destruction  of  York  and  the  death  and  captivity  of 
nearly  the  entire  population  were  so  disheartening,  that  the 
few  who  escaped  contemplated  an  abandonment  of  the  settle- 
ment, but  a  few  clung  to  their  old  dwelling  place,  and  these 
formed  a  nucleus  for  a  new  town. 

With  the  inauguration  of  a  new  government  in  England 
under  William  and  Mary,  owing  to  continued  agitation,  for 
the  rule  of  Massachusetts  was  watched  in  England  with  a 
jealous  eye,  a  new  charter  for  Maine  was  made,  and  it  arrived 
just  after  the  destruction  of  York.  It  provided  for  a  legis- 
lature consisting  of  two  branches,  and  this  town,  in  spite  of 
its  condition,  was  represented  in  both  its  branches.  The 
condition  of  the  town  was,  however,  deplorable.  Poverty 
and  continual  alarms  from  threatened  attacks  by  the  sav- 
ages prevented  any  considerable  growth.  The  destruction  of 
the  Pequawket  tribe  by  Lovewell  afforded  temporary  relief, 
but  the  French  continued  their  pernicious  efforts  against  the 

28 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINS. 


English  settlers,  and  it  was  not  until  New  England,  aroused 
by  the  necessity  of  an  aggressive  warfare,  transferred  the  war 
to  French  territory  and  captured  their  stronghold  at  L,ouis- 
burg,  that  peace  seemed  assured.  In  this  splendid  achieve- 
ment citizens  of  York  participated.  The  fall  of  Louisburg 
was  the  most  important  event  which  had  occurred  in  New 
England,  and  was  hailed  with  demonstrations  of  joy  as  it 
gave  assurance  of  tranquil  times.  Its  relinquishment,  how- 
ever, by  England  was  a  sad  blow  to  the  hopes  of  the  poor 
colonists,  and  it  was  not  until  its  second  and  final  recapture  by 
Wolfe  in  1758,  and  the  extinguishment  of  French  power  in 
New  France,  which  shortly  followed,  that  peace  with  the 
savages  was  fully  accomplished. 

From  this  time  York  began  to  thrive  and  soon  became  a 
fairly  prosperous  fishing  and  farming  community.  With  all 
danger  from  their  French  and  savage  neighbors  removed, 
an  era  of  prosperity  at  last  dawned  upon  the  coast  towns  of 
Maine  in  which  York,  owing  to  her  favorable  position  and  the 
sturdy  character  of  her  inhabitants,  shared.  Settlers  from 
neighboring  colonies  found  their  way  here,  and  with  strong 
arms  cleared  the  forests  and  laid  the  foundations  of  a  pros- 
perous settlement,  so  that  where  a  short  time  before  poverty 
and  discouragement  abounded,  thrift  and  prosperity  began  to 
flourish.  When  the  War  of  the  Revolution  came,  calling  to 
the  men  of  New  England  to  strike  a  blow  for  freedom,  this 
town  was  not  backward  in  contributing  efficient  aid  to  the 
popular  cause,  and  during  the  gloomy  years  which  followed, 
full  of  alarms  and  discouragements,  the  people  of  York  laid 
their  lives  and  treasures  a  willing  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of 
Liberty.  Again,  in  the  War  of  1812,  the  citizens  of  York 
responded  with  alacrity  to  the  bugle  call  which  summoned 

29 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

them  from  boat  and  field  to  the  defence  of  their  rights. 
Since  Maine  became  a  sovereign  State  in  1820,  the  history  of 
York,  though  it  has  not  been  marked  by  any  startling  events, 
has  been  that  of  a  peaceful  and  happy  community,  worthy  to 
be  regarded  with  pride  by  her  sons  and  daughters.  As  in 
the  earlier  wars  in  which  this  country,  since  it  became  a  na- 
tion, has  been  unfortunately  engaged,  the  war  with  Mexico, 
the  Civil  War  and  the  late  war  with  Spain,  you  have  always 
displayed  your  patriotism,  as  no  doubt  you  will  continue  to 
do  in  the  future,  should  this  country  be  drawn  into  conflict 
with  other  powers,  which  let  us  hope  may  never  happen. 

Thus  far  we  have  turned  the  eye  of  retrospection  towards 
the  past.  We  have  reviewed  together  its  history,  and  striven 
to  re-people  these  pleasant  scenes  with  the  forms  of  those  who 
once  lived  their  lives  among  them.  So  much  for  the  past ; 
what  of  the  future?  What  will  your  town  be  when  you 
assemble  to  commemorate  its  third  centennial  ?  For  there 
are  a  few  now  within  sound  of  my  voice  who  will  be  here  to 
witness  that  event.  What  you  will  be  is  of  more  importance 
than  what  you  have  been.  One  thing  is  certain ;  the  world 
will  have  changed.  Great  inventions  and  discoveries  will 
have  been  made ;  perhaps  a  new  force,  more  efficient  than 
steam  or  electricity,  will  have  been  harnessed  to  the  chariot 
of  progress.  Widely  separated  communities  will  have  been 
brought  nearer  to  each  other  than  we  dream  of  to-day;  the 
productive  world  will  no  longer  be  dominated  by  ignorance 
and  misguided  by  crude  theories ;  agriculture  will  have 
assumed  a  place  nearer  its  true  one  in  the  estimation  of  men, 
and  literature  and  art.  twin  lights  of  civilization,  will  illum- 
ine the  way  of  progress ;  hence  it  will  be  a  better  ordered 
world  and  nearer  our  ideal,  though  far  below  what  we  hope 

30 


OF  THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


it  may  become  in  some  more  remote  future,  when  Christian- 
ity shall  more  perfectly  direct  its  course. 

I  have  denominated  literature  and  art  as  twin  lights  of 
civilization;  neither  are  found  in  savage  life ;  the  bark 
inscription,  the  carved  war  club  and  painter  feather  are  the 
first  signs  of  their  existence.  I  go  farther  and  say  that  the 
use  made  of  these  lights  is  the  measure  of  civilization. 

In  the  past,  we,  of  New  England,  have  not  found  time  to 
devote  to  art ;  beauty  has  been  ignored  in  our  devotion  to 
utility,  and  we  have  left  our  cities  and  towns,  especially  our 
country  towns,  to  grow  at  random.  This  is  not  as  it  should 
be ;  they  should  be  beautified  and  adorned.  The  Greeks 
understood  this  better  than  we  have  hitherto,  and  beautified 
their  surroundings  with  adornments,  the  relics  of  which  still 
excite  the  admiration  of  mankind.  Take  up  this  work  then  ; 
make  your  town  beautiful,  that  it  may  be  a  growing  joy  to 
those  who  follow  you.  As  this  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in 
the  State,  let  it  be  the  foremost  in  this  work.  A  splendid 
example,  which  every  citizen  of  the  State  should  behold,  may 
be  seen  at  Rumford  Falls.  Such  an  achievement  could  only 
be  compassed  by  the  brain  and  heart  of  a  Hugh  Chisholm, 
and  it  forms  a  nobler  monument  to  him  than  one  of  brass. 

In  this  work  do  not  forget  memorials  of  your  past,  of  the 
men  who  have  contributed  to  your  betterment.  I  do  not 
mean  by  such  memorials  as  monuments  which  savor  of  mortal- 
ity, but  real  works  of  art.  In  a  city  in  Germany,  many  years 
ago,  a  rathaus,  or  city  government  building  was  begun,  and 
is  now  drawing  towards  completion  ;  something  from  year  to 
year  having  been  added  to  it  according  to  its  original  concep- 
tion. All  the  material  used  in  its  construction  is  of  local 
origin,  and  the  work  in  it  has  all  been  accomplished  by  local 

31 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

artisans  and  artists.  This  building  is  the  embodiment  of  the 
city's  history.  The  walls  and  ceilings  of  its  many  rooms  are 
decorated  with  historic  scenes  from  its  founding  to  a  recent 
period ;  each  room  exhibiting  one  or  more  chapters  in  its  life 
and  progress.  The  carven  doors,  the  adornments  of  frieze 
architrave,  and  even  the  finely  wrought  iron  work  bear  his- 
toric designs,  and  the  faces  which  everywhere  present  them- 
selves to  you  in  sculpture  or  painting  are  those  of  former  citi- 
zens. What  memorials  can  excel  these  ?  I  know  of  none 
which  equal  them.  You  of  York  are  blessed  with  natural 
surroundings  of  great  beauty  and  a  population  noted  for 
moral  and  intellectual  worth.  I  know  of  no  surer  promise  of 
a  happy  future  to  our  beloved  land  than  such  a  community ; 
fearing  God,  loving  education,  temperance  and  thrift.  We 
are  here  to  recognize  these  virtues  ;  to  take  part  in  an  act  of 
history ;  to  record  our  faith  in  popular  institutions ;  in  prog- 
ress inspired  by  love  of  God  and  love  of  man.  These  two 
give  dignity  to  humanity,  and  irradiate  it  with  the  spirit  of 
deity.  Yesterday  humanity  bowed  to  the  pitiless  spirit  of 
force ;  today  it  greets  the  angel  of  liberty ;  tomorrow  it  will 
hail  the  reign  of  universal  brotherhood.  War  has  blackened 
the  pages  of  history  and  stained  them  with  tears  and  blood ; 
the  history  of  this  town,  as  well  as  the  history  of  the  world ; 
but,  henceforth,  we  may  hope  that  peace  will  keep  them 
stainless  and  undefiled. 

"Oh  first  of  human  blessings  !  and  supreme  ! 
Fair  peace !  how  lovely,  how  delightful  thou  ! 
By  whose  wide  tie,  the  kindred  sons  of  men 
Live  brothers  like,  in  amity  combined, 
And  unsuspicious  faith  !  While  honest  toil 
Gives  every  joy,  and  to  those  joys  a  right, 
Which,  idle,  barbarous  warfare  but  usurps." 

32 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Cultivate,  then,  all  the  arts  of  peace ;  fertilize  your  fields ; 
plow,  and  harrow,  and  sow,  and  reap  with  thankful  hearts 
the  harvests  that  they  yield.  L,et  industry  enrich  your  town 
that  genius  may  find  room  to  adorn  it  with  memorials  of  its 
past,  and  philanthropy  with  schools  and  libraries,  and  what- 
ever ministers  to  the  true  upbuilding  of  man,  for  industry 
clears  the  way  of  progress.  The  history  of  York  is  not  such 
as  men,  dominated  by  the  false  dogma  that  might  is  right, 
call  great.  Its  pioneers  flaunted  no  emblazoned  arms  nor 
knightly  shield,  but  with  dauntless  hearts  and  stout  arms  led 
the  way  like  a  forlorn  hope  into  the  wilds  of  Agamenticus  to 
plant  deep  the  foundations  of  civilization.  To  them  belongs 
the  meed  of  praise,  greater  than  that  to  victorious  generals  or 
founders  of  mighty  dynasties,  for  they  laid  enduring  founda- 
tions.    We  salute  their  memory. 


33 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


Historical  Sketch  of  |£ork. 


By  FRANK  D.  MARSHALL. 

On  the  5th  day  of  August,  1902,  the  Town  of  York 
formally  commemorated  its  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary as  a  town  established  by  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony. 
Yet  here,  in  the  year  1642,  on  the  banks  of  a  river  called 
Agamenticus,  antedating  by  a  decade  and  more  this  Puritan 
municipal  franchise,  was  established  the  first  city  in  Amer- 
ica, under  the  name  of  Gorgeana.  Here  was  to  be  the 
capital  of  the  Province,  and  the  seat  of  the  bishop;  the 
evident  intention  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  "Lord  Palatine 
of  the  Province  of  Maine,"  being  to  set  up  a  government 
on  lines  sharply  opposed  to  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  in 
matters  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  How  far  his  dream  of 
vice-regal  sovereignty  across  the  seas  came  true  has  already 
been  told  by  Mr.  Baxter. 

Bancroft  writes:  "In  1602,  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  a  dis- 
creet and  intrepid  navigator,  .  .  .  undertook  the  direct  voy- 
age from  the  British  Channel  to  America.  From  the  Azores, 
to  which  he  was  borne  by  contrary  winds,  he  ran  a  westerly 
course  .  .  .  but  it  was  only  after  seven  weeks  that  he  came 
in  sight  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  in  Maine.  Following  the  coast  to 
the  southwest,  he  skirted  'an  outpoint  of  wooded  land';  and, 
about  of  the  fourteenth  of  May,  he  anchored  'near  Savage 

34 


Mr.  Frank  D.  Marshall, 
Portland,  Maine. 


OF  THE   TOWN   OF  YORK,    MAINE. 


rock,'  to  the  east  of  York  harbor.  There  he  met  a  Biscay 
shallop;  and  there  he  was  visited  by  natives."  Thence  he 
stood  south  and  on  the  fifteenth  discovered  Cape  Cod.  If 
Bancroft  has  rightly  interpreted  the  narrative  of  Gosnold,  he 
was  the  first  Englishman  known  to  have  seen  the  coast 
of  York.  Just  a  year  later  Martin  Pring,  with  the  Speedwell 
and  the  Discoverer,  craft  of  less  than  fifty  tons  burden, 
coasted  along  these  shores,  and  discovered  York  River,  even 
if  he  did  not  ascend  it.  But  Captain  John  Smith,  picking 
his  way  along  these  shores  in  the  summer  of  1614,  traced 
their  indentations  with  business-like  accuracy  upon  his  great 
map  dedicated  to  Prince  Charles,  and  more  clearly  plotted 
the  river  and  shore  line  of  York,  as  well  as  its  great  hill. 
On  his  return  to  England,  Smith  submitted  the  map  to  Prince 
Charles,  then  a  boy  of  some  fifteen  years,  who  changed,  as 
Smith  tells  us,  about  thirty-five  "barbarous  Indian  names" 
for  others,  "in  order  that  posterity  might  be  able  to  say  that 
that  royal  personage  was  their  godfather";  hence  Agamenti- 
cus  was  named  Snowden  Hill,  and  "Boston"  was  located  at 
its  base. 

Thus,  in  a  large  measure,  the  coast  became  known  in  a 
general  way  to  Gorges,  Popham  and  other  promoters  of  trade 
and  colonization,  and  drew  their  attention. 

Gorges  says  he  "had  long  known  Lieut. -Col.  Norton,  who 
had  raised  himself  from  a  common  soldier  to  his  present  posi- 
tion." He  speaks  of  him  as  an  industrious  man,  who  well 
understood  whatever  he  undertook,  and  who  was  strong  to 
carry  it  out.  Gorges  obtained  a  patent  for  Norton  and  asso- 
ciated with  him  his  grandson  Ferdinando  Gorges,  "conceiv- 
ing that  he  would  thus  be  better  fortified  in  his  rights." 
Under  this  patent,  issued  in  December,  1631,  twelve  thousand 

35 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

acres  were  granted  to  Norton  and  others  on  the  east  side  of 
York  River,  while  a  like  amount  on  the  west  bank  was  given 
to  the  grandson.  Gorges  writes  that  thereupon  Norton  and 
his  associates  "hastened  to  take  possession  of  their  territory, 
carrying  with  them  their  families  and  other  necessary  pro- 
visions, and  I  sent  over  for  my  son  my  nephew,  Capt. 
William  Gorges  .  .  .  with  some  other  craftsmen  for  the 
building  of  houses  and  erecting  saw  mills;  and  by  other 
shipping  from  Bristol  some  cattle  with  other  servants,  by 
which  the  foundation  of  the  plantation  was  laid.   .   .  ." 

Preceding  this  expedition  must  have  gone  Edward  God- 
frey, a  steadfast  defender  of  the  rights  of  Gorges  and  a  man 
whose  character  stands  out  strong  and  able.  In  1654 
Godfrey,  then  in  England,  filed  a  claim  against  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  wherein  he  recited  that  he  had  been  a  resident  of 
York  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  "and  was  the  first  who  ever 
built  there."  This  fixes  the  first  permanent  settlement  in 
1629;  yet,  in  all  probability,  at  least  summer  fishing  stages 
earlier  existed  on  the  shores  of  York  River,  but  nine  miles 
distant  from  the  Piscataqua  plantation  of  1623,  notably  on 
"Stage  Island,"  or  "Stage  Neck,"  as  later  called.* 

Thus  came  to  York  the  first  settlers.  The  names  of  many 
prominent  in  town  and  province  affairs  are  now  forgotten  ; 
others  are  perpetuated  by  resident  descendants,  while  many  a 
son  of  the  great  West  comes  back  to  the  old  Agamenticus,  or 
Bristol  settlement,  not  only  because  its  summer  shores  are 
pleasant,  but  to  wander  for  a  season  in  the  paths  of  his 
ancestors.     Prominent  among  the  emigrants,  in  addition  to 

•Belknap,  Williamson  and  others  fix  the  date  of  settlement  of  York 
as  early  as  1622-23,  but  they  do  not  adduce  authorities  to  substantiate 
their  statement. 

36 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Norton*  and  Godfrey,  were  Francis  Raynes,  Arthur  Bragdon, 
Henry  Dunnells,  Thomas  Bradbury,  John  Puddington, 
Richard  Banks,  Sylvester  Stover,  Hugh  Gale,  Roger  Garde 
Henry  Simpson,  William  Hooket,  William  Ellingham, 
Sampson  Anger,  Nicholas  Davis,  John  Twisden,  Senior, 
Richard  Burgess  and  John  Allcock. 

Probably  many  of  these  and  their  immediate  successors 
were  "such  young  persons  as  being  married  have  neither 
howse  nor  home  of  theire  owne  but  what  they  can  get  by 
their  labors."  These  Gorges  described  to  be  best  fitted  for 
emigrants.  However  that  may  be,  during  the  first  decade  of 
the  settlement's  existence  not  a  few  men  came  who  possessed 
education,  self-reliance  and  good  character.  At  this  time, 
although  a  "chapel  or  oratory"  is  referred  to,  there  was  no 
settled  minister.  The  settlement  during  the  brewing  troubles 
in  England  was,  nominally  at  least,  loyal  to  Charles  First 
and  to  the  Church ;  and,  as  subsequent  events  show,  a  few  of 
its  men  of  standing  were  strong  in  their  faith.  As  early  as 
1634  their  future  L,ord  Palatine  wrote  his  sovereign,  express- 
ing a  desire  to  here  set  up  and  firmly  establish  the  church ; 
and  the  king  had  expressly  commanded  Gorges  to  settle 
with  all  convenient  speed  the  ecclesiastical  government  of  the 
Church  of  England. 

In  April,  1639,  the  king  made  Gorges  I,ord  Palatine  of  the 
Province  of  Mayne,  conferring  a  high  degree  of  feudal 
authority.     The  old  cavalier  then  aspired  to  come  hither  in 

•Little  is  known  of  Walter  Norton,  "who  had  raised  himself  from  a 
common  soldier."  He  died  previous  to  March,  1638,  leaving  as  his 
only  child  Jane  Simpson,  wife  of  young  Henry  Simpson  who  was  prob- 
ably one  of  the  original  settlers  of  the  town. 

tWilliam  Hooke  was  "Governor  of  Agamenticus"  in  1638. 

37 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

person,  and  set  about  building  a  ship  for  his  conveyance ; 
but  by  some  mishap  it  fell  upon  stocks  and  was  ruined. 
Thereupon  Thomas  Gorges,  a  nephew,  or  "cousin"  as  such 
kinsmen  were  then  called,  was  dispatched  as  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor. He  was  from  the  Inns-of -Court,  a  barrister,  barely 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  a  man  of  ability  and  judicious 
temperament.  Up  to  this  time  the  community,  with  those 
contiguous,  had  been  accustomed  "to  order  their  affairs  as  if 
they  alone  were  the  supreme  lords."  In  1640  Thomas 
Gorges  reached  Agamenticus  and  established  his  authority. 
The  court  records  show  that  he  controlled  with  vigor.  He 
found  there  "the  wily  and  corrupt  George  Burdett,"  in  the 
guise  of  a  clergyman,  working  iniquity.  Burdett  was 
arrested,  indicted  and  convicted  of  various  crimes.  Thomas 
Gorges  returned  to  England  in  1643  and  joined  the  Round 
heads  as  a  I^ieut. -Colonel  in  the  Somerset  Militia,  later 
becoming  a  member  of  Parliament  from  Taunton.  The 
cellar  of  his  residence  at  York  is  still  pointed  out  on  the 
banks  of  the  river. 

On  April  10th,  1641,  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  created  the 
little  Agamenticus  settlement  into  a  borough  with  the 
"church  chapel,  or  oratory"*  as  the  center  thereof;  and  on 
March  1st,  1642,  he  issued  his  charter,  as  "L,ord  of  ye 
Province  of  Mayne,"  changing  the  borough  into  a  "citie" 
.  .  .  and  ordained  "that  ye  Circuite  of  ye  said  Incorpora- 
tion .  .  .  shall  extend  from  ye  Beginning  of  ye  Entrance  of 
ye  River  ...  &  so  up  ye  said  River  seven  Inglish  miles, 
and  all  along  ye    East  &  North  East   side  of    ye  sea  shore 

*The  writer  doubts  whether  this  chapel  was  actually  built,  at  least  as 
early  as  1641,  although  it  would  be  gratifying  to  have  evidence  that  it 
did  then  exist. 

38 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Three  English  miles  in  Breadth  from  ye  Entrance  of  ye  said 
River,  and  up  into  ye  Mayne  Land,  seven  miles,  Butting 
with  ye  seven  miles  from  ye  sea  side,  .  .  .  that  ye  same 
from  henceforth  be  .  .  .  called  by  the  name  of  Gorgeanna, 
and  .  .  .  to  have  continuance  forever.  ..." 

Then  followed  all  provisions  "for  better  governing  ye  said 
Citie,"  including  the  selection  of  the  mayor,  aldermen, 
"common  councill"  and  recorder,  as  well  as  for  a  "Court 
L,eete,"  and  a  Court  of  Justice,  proceedings  to  be  "accord- 
ing .  .  .  to  his  Majest  Court  of  Chancery  at  Westminster." 
There  were  officials  called  "Sergants  of  ye  White  Rod"  to 
"serve  and  return  all  precepts."  Moreover  all  lands  were  to 
"bie  holden  of  ye  Kings  Majestie  ...  In  free  and  Comon 
Cotage,  and  not  in  Capite."  A  market  was  established; 
also  fairs  were  to  be  held  "...  upon  the  feast  day  of  St. 
James  and  St.  Paul."  Then  followed  a  right  of  appeal  in  all 
causes  to  the  I^ord  Palatine ;  and  a  clause  giving  all  the 
privileges  "as  the  City  of  Bristol  holdeth." 

Such  in  effedl  was  the  old  feudal  machinery,  with  all  its 
refinements,  for  governing  and  developing  a  community  of 
about  three  hundred  souls  planted  on  a  rugged  coast,  con- 
fronted by  an  endless  forest,  and  but  two  days'  journey  from 
Massachusetts  Bay,  ready  at  the  first  plausible  excuse  to 
reach  out  and  assimilate  these  "men  to  the  eastward." 

Thomas  Gorges  was  the  first  mayor.  On  his  return  to 
England,  Roger  Garde,  the  recorder,  succeeded  him  in  office. 
Then  Governor  Winthrop  said  "they  made  a  taylor  their 
mayor" — an  observation  of  doubtful  grace  coming  from  "the 
grandson  of  a  clothworker."  The  records  show  Garde  to 
have  been  a  man  of  education ;  and  that  he  had  a  standing  in 
the  community  is  apparent  not  only  by  his  becoming  chief 

39 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

magistrate,  but  also  from  the  fact  that  Thomas  Gorges  com- 
mitted his  private  estate  to  his  care.  He  died  in  1645  and 
was  buried  with  military  honors.  Edward  Godfrey  was  the 
third  mayor  of  the  city. 

Meanwhile  the  aged  Sir  Ferdinando  had  taken  up  arms  for 
his  king.  He  became  a  prisoner  of  Cromwell,  was  released, 
and  died  in  1647,  having  spent  a  fortune  and  a  lifetime  in  col- 
onizing adventures.     John  Gorges  succeeded  to  his  estates. 

Hearing  nothing  from  their  Lord  Palatine,  and  their  sov- 
ereign dethroned,  discouragement  to  Royalists  in  Gorgeana 
was  inevitable.  After  all,  its  people  were  but  yesterday 
residing  in  Kent,  Somerset  and  Sussex  ;  and  the  rising  tide 
of  representative  government  in  the  mother  country  would 
soon  and  often  bring  ships  to  these  shores  bearing  news  to 
find  quick  response  here.  On  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  the 
pulse  of  English  thought  beat  much  the  same.  It  was  now 
prudent  for  Royalists  to  be  passive,  if  not  submissive.  God- 
frey was  most  outspoken  for  the  rights  of  the  charter,  and 
later  suffered  accordingly.  It  was  under  these  conditions 
that  in  1649  the  citizens  met  those  of  Kittery  and  Wells  and 
resolved  :  *  'whereas  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  is  dead  :  and  for 
the  better  ordering  .  .  .  till  Further  Authorryty  shall  come 
out  of  England  ...  to  unite  into  a  boddy  pollitick  ...  to 
see  the's  parts  .  .  .  regulated  according  to  such  lawes  as 
formerly  have  been  exercised."  They  chose  Godfrey  gover- 
nor. 

In  October  of  the  same  year  a  "Generall  Courte"  was 
holden  at  Gorgeana  "before  the  right  Worp11  Edward  God- 
frey, Dep.  Govr.  Mr.  Nicholas  Shapleigh,  Mr.  Abraham 
Preble,  Edward  Rush  worth,  Assistants."  It  took  cognizance 
of  civil,  criminal  and  ecclesiastical  matters.     At  this  time  the 

40 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Grand  Jury  presented  William  Hilton  for  "not  keeping 
vittual  and  drink  at  all  times  for  strangers  and  inhabitants." 
Mr.  Hilton  was  the  ferryman  at  York  Harbor,  and  was  evi- 
dently the  first  man  to  keep  a  public  house  in  that  now  flour- 
ishing and  beautiful  summer  resort. 

The  Court  further  decreed  that  "all  who  are  out  of  a 
Churchway  and  be  orthodox  in  judgment  and  not  scandalous 
in  life,  shall  have  full  liberty  to  gather  them-selves  into  a 
Church  estate  .  .  .  and  every  Church  hath  Frie  liberty  of 
Election  and  ordination  of  all  her  officers  .  .  .  provided  they 
be  able  pious  and  orthodox."  Although  there  was  then 
probably  no  settled  minister,  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  for 
years  past  Episcopal  clergymen  had  often  conducted  worship  ; 
also  that  Puritan  ministers  labored  among  the  people,  notably 
Rev.  Mr.  Thompson,  "pious  and  learned." 

It  may  be  said  in  passing  that  probably  religious  freedom 
was  not  the  master  motive  of  a  majority  of  the  first  settlers 
in  Gorgeana,  or  York,  as  it  was  professed  to  be  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay.  The  men  who  came  at  the  bidding  of  Gorges 
were  colonizers ;  they  were  to  hold  and  populate  the  country 
for  their  Eord  Palatine.  In  conveyances  they  frequently 
described  themselves  as  planters ;  in  those  days  titles  were 
more  carefully  and  properly  applied  than  now.  Hence  it  is 
not  surprising  that  among  them  may  have  been  adventurers, 
and  some  reckless  characters  who,  not  passing  muster  under 
rigid  Puritan  laws,  here  sought  shelter  beyond  the  Piscataqua 
shore. 

Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Massachusetts  Bay  had  some 
motive  in  giving  ready  ear  to  tales  of  lawlessness  that  may 
have  come  down  the  coast  to  Salem  and  Boston.  With  her 
the  spirit  of  expansion  then  prevailed.     York's  records,  both 

41 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

civil  and  criminal,  do  not  greatly  differ  from  those  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  towns.  Vague  stories  long  repeated  may 
merge  into  tradition,  and  tradition  into  accepted  history, 
which  until  more  recent  years  we  have  taken  largely  from 
Massachusetts.  What  reason  is  there  to  believe  that  these 
immigrants  and  colonizers  were  not,  in  the  aggregate,  as 
sober  minded,  industrious,  law  abiding  and  intelligent  as 
their  English  kinsmen  three  score  miles  to  the  south  ? 

Meanwhile  there  had  come  within  the  city  limits  a  new 
element.  The  uprising  of  the  Scots  in  the  forties  had  made 
it  convenient,  if  not  necessary,  for  certain  Cavaliers  to  seek 
new  homes  across  the  sea.  So  along  the  river  bank  grew  up 
a  hamlet  known  to  this  day  as  "Scotland."  The  descendants 
of  Pierce  and  Micum  Mclntire,  Robert  Junkins,  Thomas 
Donnell,  Joseph  Grant*  and  other  Scotchmen,  still  dwell 
there,  and  have  for  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
been  prominent  in  town  affairs. 

In  the  summer  of  1652  Massachusetts  Bay,  having  con- 
strued its  great  charter  to  embrace  much  of  Maine,  sent  a 
commission  "to  treat  with  the  gentlemen  of  the  eastward." 
Governor  Godfrey!  refused  to  submit,  resolving  to  exercise 
jurisdiction  "until  it  shall  please  Parliament,  the  Common- 
weal   of    England,  .  .  .  otherwise    to   order,    under  whose 

•Banished  by  Cromwell  in  1645  or  1647. 

tEor  obvious  reasons  Edward  Godfrey  does  not  appear  in  office  after 
1652.  Part  of  the  time  he  was  in  England  struggling  for  the  heir  of 
Gorges ;  in  1655  Massachusetts  Bay  stripped  him  of  much  of  his 
estates.  At  the  restoration  he  again  went  to  England.  In  1663  he 
died  a  prisoner  for  debt  in  the  Fleet,  Ludgate,  aged  79  years.  In  1665 
York  regranted  his  homestead  lands  on  the  south  side  of  York  River, 
to  Anna  Godfrey,  his  widow. 

42 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


power  and  protection  we  are."  Yet  even  in  Gorgeana  the 
majority  was  against  him,  so  he  writes,  "whatever  my  body 
was  enforced  to  do  Heaven  knows  my  soul  did  not  consent 
unto."  Some  open  violence  followed  in  the  town,  but  Mas- 
sachusetts prevailed,  and  it  was  doubtless  better  that  she  did. 
The  charter  was  revoked,  and  thus  after  ten  short  years,  the 
first  city  in  America  ceased  to  exist.  "Thorough"  was  the 
shibboleth  in  Massachusetts  Bay  as  well  as  in  England,  so 
not  even  a  well-deserved  and  euphonious  name  was  left  this 
little  settlement  in  memory  of  its  founder.  Massachusetts 
Bay,  granting  citizenship  to  those  who  took  "ye  Oath  of 
Freedom,"  conferred  the  less  graceful  name  of  York.  Thus 
began  its  corporate  existence.* 

The  vicissitudes  of  those  early  days  may  be  traced  from  the 
records  of  the  town.  By  1660  York  was  growing  rapidly 
and  flourishing,  as  is  evidenced  by  land  grants.  Yet  the 
title  to  the  Province  was  still  in  litigation,  adherents  to 
Massachusetts  Bay  continuing  dominant.  But  now  that 
the  crown  was  restored  to  Charles  Second,  even  Massachu- 
setts Bay  feared,  at  times,  lest  its  own  great  charter  be 
annulled.  When  the  fortunes  of  the  Gorges  heirs,  at  brief 
intervals,  would  be  uppermost,  land  grants  in  York  would 
almost  cease,  in  fadl  none  are  recorded  in  1661-2;  in  1663 
but  one  grant  was  "laid  out  to  John  Frost  ffisherman." 
The  King's  commissioners  visited  the  town  in  1665  and  made 
proclamation   requiring    the   inhabitants    to   submit    to   the 

*The  Commissioners'  Court  was  held  at  Gorgeana  on  the  22nd  of 
November,  1652;  sitting,  Simeon  Bradstreet,  Bryan  Pendleton,  Tho: 
Wiggine,  Sam'll  Symonds ;  Edward  Rishworth,  Recorder.  On  that 
day  the  legal  existence  of  Gorgeana,  or  Agamenticus,  ceased,  and 
York  began  as  a  body  corporate.     York  Records,  Part  I,  Folio  27. 

43 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

immediate  protection  and  government  of  the  King ;  but  proc- 
lamations do  not  make  stable  government,  so  in  July,  1668, 
for  the  second  time  commissioners  from  Massachusetts 
Bay  arrived,  this  time  with  a  military  escort.  A  turbulent 
scene  followed  at  the  meeting-house,  but  again  the  Puritan 
authority  was  established  and  "a  few  prominent  individuals 
who  would  not  submit  were  summarily  dealt  with."  Finally, 
in  1677,  the  Justices  decided  that  the  claim  of  young  Gorges, 
as  heir,  was  valid.  Then  he  offered  to  sell  his  title  to  the 
Province  to  the  King,  presumably  for  the  Duke  of  Mon- 
mouth, the  favorite  son  of  Charles  Second.  But  the  agents 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  lost  no  time  in  quietly  crossing  the  sea 
to  make  a  purchase;  and  for  ,£1,250  Gorges  passed  a  clear 
title  to  Massachusetts  Bay — to  the  furious  indignation  of  the 
King,  it  is  said.  Thereupon  follow  page  upon  page  of  land 
grants  in  the  records  of  this  town,  until  the  year  1682,  when 
the  King  directed  a  writ  of  quo  warranto  against  the  charter 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  once  more  the  records  show  noth- 
ing granted. 

Thus  for  thirty  years  York,  the  seat  of  provincial  govern- 
ment, and  the  place  last  reconciled  to  the  rule  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  was  a  storm  center  of  the  contesting  claimants. 
The  last  fitful  cloud  vanished  in  1684,  when  President  Dan- 
forth,  authorized  by  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  "ye  now 
Lord  Proprietors,"  confirmed  to  the  inhabitants  all  rights 
and  privileges  "to  them  formerly  granted  by  Sir  Ferdinando 
Gorges."  The  instrument  conferring  these  rights  was  an 
indenture,  "Between  Thomas  Danforth  Esq.  president  of  his 
Majties  Province  of  Mayne,  in  New  England,  on  the  one 
party,  and  Major  John  Davis,  Mr.  Edward  Rushworth, 
Capt.  Job  Alcock  and  Lieut.  Abraham  Prebble,  Trustees  on 

44 


OP  THE  TOWN   OF  YORK,    MAINE. 


ye  behalf  and  for  ye  sole  use  and  benefit  of  ye  Inhabitants  of 
ye  Town  of  Yorke."  The  consideration  of  the  deed  is  "That 
they  ye  abovesaid  Inhabitants  .  .  .  forever  hereafter  as  an 
acknowledgement  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  and  his  Assigns, 
right  to  Soyle  and  Government,  do  pay  twelve  pence  for 
every  family  whose  Single  Country  rate  is  not  above  Two 
Shillings,  and  for  all  that  exceed  the  sum  of  Two  shillings, 
in  a  single  rate,  to  pay  three  shillings  pr.  family  annually  in 
money  to  ye  Treasurer  of  said  Province,  for  ye  use  of  ye 
Chiefe  proprietor  thereof." 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  in  this  instance  Massachusetts 
Bay  chose  to  rest  on  her  title  as  assignee  of  Gorges'  heirs, 
rather  than  by  her  interpretation  of  the  famous  line  north  of 
the  Merrimac. 

Of  the  Trustees,  above  named,  Abraham  Preble  and 
Edward  Rishworth  are  best  remembered.  Abraham  Preble, 
senior,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers.  L,ieut.  Abraham 
Preble  was  generally  styled  junior.  Both  men  were  adtive  in 
town  affairs,  as  surveyors,  town  clerks  and  selectmen.  lieu- 
tenant Preble  was  representative  to  the  General  Court. 
Preble  is  a  name  long  and  favorably  known  in  the  State  of 
Maine.  Edward  Rishworth  has  descendants,  but  none  bear- 
ing his  name.  He  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  and 
married  Susan  Wheelwright,  daughter  of  John  Wheelwright, 
vicar  of  Bilsby.  He  came  from  Exeter  to  Gorgeana  in  1647  ; 
was  recorder  of  the  Court  in  1651,  and  in  1653  represented 
York  in  the  General  Court  at  Boston.  He  submitted  to  the 
Royal  Commissioners  on  their  visit  to  York,  before  referred 
to,  and  was  thereupon  appointed  one  of  the  Justices.  Three 
years  later,  in  1668,  he  was  removed  by  Massachusetts  Bay  ; 
but  in  1673  he  apologized  and  was  restored  to  office,  and  in 

45 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

1 680-8 1  he  was  made  chancellor  under  the  Gorges  Charter 
acquired  by  Massachusetts  Bay ;  also  secretary  of  the  Prov- 
ince. He  died  in  1691.  While  he  displayed  unusual  facility 
in  gaining  office  under  the  dominant  faction  for  the  time 
being,  he  seems  to  have  performed  his  varied  public  trusts 
faithfully  and  well.  He  made  for  law,  order  and  industry  in 
town  and  provincial  affairs,  and  his  name  should  not  be 
forgotten. 

Since  the  history  of  the  old  First  Parish  is  taken  up  else- 
where in  this  volume,  it  will  be  here  touched  upon  only  at  one 
or  two  points.  Volume  one,  page  twenty,  of  the  Town 
Records  reads  as  follows  :  "Wee  the  Selectmen  of  the  Town 
of  York,  have  given  unto  the  Townhouse  for  the  use  of  the 
Ministry,  a  certain  parcell  of  marsh,  lying  about  John  Pearses 
Cove,  above  it,  and  joining  unto  William  More  on  the  other 
side,  containing  one  acre  or  thereabouts : 
5  July  ;   1653  :  Wieeiam  Hieton, 

Peter  Weare, 
John  Aecock, 
Arthur  Bragdon, 
Richard  Banks." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  numerous  grants  of  land  to  the 
ministry,  some  of  which  the  Parish  holds  to  this  day, 
"unreversable  as  an  inheritance  given  promised  and  con- 
firmed thereunto  for  the  perpetual  use  and  benefit  of  ye  Min- 
istry henceforth  unto  all  succeeding  generations." 

The  first  meeting-house  was  located  on  the  slope  of  the  hill 
on  the  northeasterly  side  of  "Meeting  House  Creek,"  near  the 
road  leading  from  York  Village  to  Sewall's  Bridge. 

In  1662  Shubael  Dummer  came  from  Newbury  and  began 

46 


Thk  Barrel:.  Mansion,  York. 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


a  pastorate  which  was  to  end  only  on  his  death  by  the  hands 
of  the  French  and  Indians  on  the  morning  of  January  25th, 
1692.  He  lived  near  Roaring  Rock  on  the  Norwood  Farms, 
also  having  a  considerable  tract  of  land  "near  the  Rivers 
mouth,"  called  "Farmer  Allcock's  Neck"  by  the  sea. 

In  the  annals  of  York  the  events  of  1692  have  been  related 
from  generation  to  generation.  The  following  is  from  the 
manuscript  of  the  late  Hon.  Nathaniel  G.  Marshall,  who  was 
an  authority  on  the  history  of  his  town.  "This  was  a  fatal 
year.  .  .  .  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  January  [or  February 
4th]  ...  a  descent  was  made  by  a  body  of  Indians,  at  which 
nearly  all  the  inhabitants  on  the  north  side  of  the  River  were 
either  slain  or  taken  prisoners  and  carried  into  captivity  .  .  . 
This  town,  protected  in  a  measure  by  the  villages  growing 
up  in  the  interior  and  on  either  hand,  did  not  suffer  much 
until  this  year  1692  .  .  .  when  it  was  nearly  annihilated. 
All  the  property  and  accumulations,  recorded  in  the  preced- 
ing pages  [referring  to  town  records],  the  result  of  seventy 
years'  toil,  were  swept  away,  and  loved  ones  .  .  .  were 
either  slain  or  carried  into  captivity  by  the  Indians,  who  were 
beyond  doubt  urged  on  by  the  French ;  and  it  is  a  tradition 
not  to  be  doubted  that  the  Indians  who  made  the  attack  .  .  . 
were  commanded  by  French  officers,  perhaps  in  disguise 
..."  So  far  as  known  the  torch  was  put  to  every  house  in 
the  locality  mentioned,  excepting  only  the  four  or  five  garri- 
son houses,  the  meeting-house  and  the  old  Gaol. 

Another  account,  from  one  whose  memory  extended  back  to 
within  a  hundred  years  of  the  event,  is  that  the  expedition 
was  equipped  in  Canada,  the  regions  lying  to  the  north  and 
east  being  generally  thus  designated,  with  York  as  the  objec- 
tive point  and  that  it  consisted  of  nearly  as  many  French  as 

47 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Indians,  in  all  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Reaching 
the  outskirts  of  the  settlement  at  night  the  expedition  piled 
its  snowshoes  around  a  large  rock,  still  pointed  out.  Then  it 
separated,  a  Frenchman  and  an  Indian  covering  the  entrance 
to  each  dwelling,  daybreak  or  the  first  gunshot  to  be  the  sig- 
nal for  a  general  massacre.  Among  the  first  to  fall  was  Rev. 
Shubael  Dummer,  and  then  began  a  cruel  slaughter  almost 
the  equal  of  Bloody  Brook.  Arthur  Bragdon,  Jr.,  a  young 
man,  attending  his  traps  suddenly  came  upon  the  pile  of 
snowshoes.  Realizing  their  import,  knowing  himself  sur- 
rounded by  an  unseen,  unmerciful  foe,  he  fled  to  Fort  Head 
at  the  Harbor,  and  there  hid  among  the  overhanging 
rocks.  Presently  an  Indian  dog  appeared,  with  its  mouth 
strapped  tight,  looked  at  him  and  trotted  away.  He  knew 
an  Indian  would  soon  come,  guided  by  the  dog.  Again 
Bragdon  started  on,  followed  the  shore  up  river  and  found  an 
old  canoe,  crossed  over,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  the  dwellers 
on  the  "South  Side,"  who  fled  for  their  lives.  Had  Bragdon 
been  able,  by  fire  or  knife,  to  have  destroyed  those  snow- 
shoes,  doubtless  there  would  have  occurred  within  sight  of 
old  Mt.  Agamenticus  a  struggle  as  bloody  and  as  famous  as 
any  in  the  Deerfield  Valley ;  for  the  alarm  given,  the  men  of 
Kittery  and  Portsmouth  started  in  pursuit.  But  it  was  a 
hopeless  chase.  The  French  and  Indians  had  the  start  by 
several  hours,  and  were  beyond  reach,  though  impeded  by 
their  captives.  Among  the  latter  was  a  sturdy  youngster, 
who  escaped.  He  is  known  to  history  as  Colonel  Jeremiah 
Moulton,  a  scourge  to  the  Indians,  and  a  valiant  officer  in  the 
war  with  France. 

Of  the  six  succeeding  years  we  have  this  account  from  an 
unknown  man  who  writes:    "When   I   was   about   nineteen 

48 


OP   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


years  old,  I  was  pressed  a  soldier  .  .  .  and  was  stationed  at 
York.  When  I  first  came  hither  there  was  no  settled  minis- 
ter, and  very  little  of  so  much  as  ye  form  of  religion ;  but  on 
ye  contrary  an  abundance  of  levity  and  vanity,  although  it 
was  soon  after  ye  destruction  of  a  great  part  of  ye  town  by  ye 
Indians." 

One  painful  result  of  the  sack  and  massacre  was  the 
destruction  of  every  mill.  Therefore  the  inhabitants  were  led 
to  negotiate  with  Capt.  John  Pickerin,  of  Portsmouth,  as 
appears  by  an  open  letter  submitted  by  Pickerin  wherein  he 
speaks  of  "ye  straits  and  necessities  of  your  town  for  want  of 
a  Corn  Mill."  His  terms  were  finally  accepted  in  1695 
by  an  indenture  executed  on  behalf  of  the  town  by 
Samuel  Donnell,  Alva  M.  Preble  and  Arthur  Bragdon,  and 
sworn  to  before  "Wm.  Peperill :  Jus.  Peace,"  father  of  the 
hero  of  L,ouisburg.  Thereby  the  town  secured  its  corn  mill, 
which  was  a  necessity,  and  therefrom  incidentally  sprouted 
sufficient  litigation  relative  to  timber  and  mill  rights  to  trans- 
mit to  the  succeeding  generation,  even  for  thirty  years. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three,  Rev.  Samuel  Moody,  but  one 
year  graduated  from  Harvard  College,  commenced  his  labors 
at  York,  arriving  May  18,  1698.  On  petition  the  General 
Court  at  Boston  assisted  in  his  support  by  a  grant  of  £\i 
sterling,  and  the  town  voted  "that  there  is  a  whous  to  bie 
built  forth  with  for  yous  of  ye  Ministry  ...  ye  Demenssions 
as  foloeth,  Twenty  eight  fout  in  Length  and  twenty  fout  wied 
with  a  L,entoe  att  one  end  ...  to  be  two  Story  high  with 
three  fiere  plesses."  Twenty  pounds  were  raised  for  the 
purpose. 

Thus  Samuel  Moody  commenced  a  pastorate  covering  half 
a  century  of  troublous  and  uncertain  times,  relying  on  the 

49 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

voluntary  offerings  of  his  people.  Usually  the  town  would 
vote  to  "mend  his  fences,"  "to  cut  his  hay,"  and  to  "supply 
him  with  fierwood."  It  also  voted  to  *  'garrison"  his  house 
"with  square  timber  of  oak  or  .  .  .  hemlock  .  .  .  with  two 
suitable  Baskins  or  Flankers." 

In  1 710  it  was  decided  to  "have  a  New  Meeting  house 
.  .  .  fifty  foot  square,  and  to  be  built  Every  Way  Pre  Portion- 
able."  This  was  the  second  house  of  worship,  or  the  third,  if 
the  "church  chapel,  or  oratory,"  mentioned  in  the  charter  of 
1 64 1  as  being  the  center  of  the  borough  limits,  was  actually 
built. 

It  was  here  that  John  Harmon,  Joseph  Sayward,  Micom 
Mclntire,  and  others  were  given  "ye  hinde  seat  in  .  .  .  our 
meeting  house  in  ye  Gallery,  Provided  they  fill  it."  Since 
these  gentlemen  were  not  filling  a  "hinde  seat"  in  civil 
affairs,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  they  were  not  under  the  ban 
of  Father  Moody,  but  were  in  fadl  thus  granted  further 
accommodation  for  their  families  or  servants. 

To  revert  to  Rev.  Samuel  Moody:  He  possessed  a  character 
as  strong  and  as  well  fitted  for  his  times  as  can  be  found  in 
any  New  England  town.  He  was  able,  fearless,  a  man  of 
faith  and  zeal,  and  with  all  these  was  blessed  with  more 
charity  and  benevolence  than  can  be  usually  ascribed  to  his 
contemporaries  in  the  ministry.  Twice  he  welcomed 
Whitefield,  the  great  revivalist.  Whitefield  wrote  in  his 
journal:  "Hither  I  came  to  see  one  Mr.  Moody,  a  worthy, 
plain  and  powerful  minister  .  .  .  though  much  impaired  by 
age.  .  .  .  He  has  lived  by  faith  for  many  years,  .  .  .  and 
has  been  much  desipsed  by  bad  men  and  as  much  respected 
by  true  lovers  of  the  blessed  Jesus.  He  came  as  far  as 
Hampton  to  meet  me.   ...  As  I  came  along  I  was  surprised 

50 


OF    THE   TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


to  see  such  improvement  made  in  a  place  of  about  one  hun- 
dred years'  standing  and  could  not  but  fancy  myself  in  old 
England." 

When  seventy  years  old  Father  Moody  sailed  as  chaplain 
in  the  expedition  against  Eouisburg.  With  him  he  carried 
an  ax,  declaring  it  to  be  "the  sword  of  the  L,ord  and  of 
Gideon,"  to  demolish  the  images  in  the  Catholic  house  of 
worship.  He  died  in  1747,  having  scored  deeply  in  the  life 
of  the  town.  The  only  son  of  Samuel  Moody  was  Joseph, 
born  in  1700,  and  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  17 18. 
He  was  the  great-uncle  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  and  was 
locally  known  as  "Handkerchief  Moody,"  and  undoubtedly 
from  Emerson,  as  friend  and  neighbor,  Hawthorne  heard 
much  of  York  characters,  and  thus  took  his  cue  for  The  Min- 
ister's Black  Veil.  Joseph  Moody  seemed  not  only  eminently 
fitted  for  public  life,  but  to  have  entered  into  it  with  much 
interest  and  success.  At  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  appeared 
as  Town  Clerk ;  later  he  was  Register  of  Deeds  for  York 
County,  and  at  thirty  years  was  Judge  of  the  County  Court. 
There  seemed  before  him  a  long  and  brilliant  career ;  but  his 
father  insisted  on  his  entering  the  ministry.  This  he  did,  and 
in  1732  was  ordained  first  pastor  of  the  Second  Parish  in  York. 
There  he  preached  for  six  years,  when  there  grew  upon  him  a 
peculiar  melancholia.  Gradually  his  eccentricities  became 
accentuated,  and  keeping  aloof  from  his  townsmen,  eating 
alone,  at  all  times  he  veiled  his  face  with  a  handkerchief ; 
hence  the  name  of  "Handkerchief  Moody."  He  died  in 
I753-  Rev.  Mr.  Lyman  said  of  Joseph  Moody,  "He  died  a 
martyr  to  his  own  declaration  that  he  'could  not  preach.'  " 

Under  the  earliest  Massachusetts  Bay  laws  church  member- 
ship was  generally  a  prerequisite  to  being  a  "freeman"  with 

51 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

full  right  to  participate  in  town  affairs.  By  the  Charter  of 
Gorgeana  it  was  the  "freeholders,"  those  possessing  real 
estate,  who  chose  the  Common  Council.  On  the  abrogation 
of  the  charter  in  1652,  the  laws  of  Massachusetts  Bay  came 
in  force  here,  and  by  the  Charter  of  William  and  Mary,  1691, 
liberty  of  conscience  was  "allowed  in  the  worship  of  God, 
to  all  Christians  except  papists,"  and  religious  tests  for 
voting  were  abolished.  Thereafter  "freeholders  and  other 
inhabitants  owning  property"  participated  in  public  affairs. 
Nevertheless  rates  for  support  of  the  ministry  were  by  law  to 
be  levied  as  other  town  charges.  The  separation  between  the 
church  and  the  state  was  not  effected  until  Maine  ceased  to 
be  a  part  of  Massachusetts  in  1820,*  although,  in  later  years, 
it  is  understood  that  the  collection  of  the  rates  was  not 
always  strictly  enforced  against  Baptists  and  others  who 
protested. 

The  following  vote  brings  to  bear  so  many  of  these  early 
statutes  that  it  may  well  be  given  in  full. 

"Att  a  L,egall  Town  Meeting  Holden  in  York  Decemr  ye 
15th   1702. 

Resolved  by  the  freeholders  and  Princable  Inhabitanc  of 
this  Town  of  York  aforesd :  to  give  unto  the  Reverd  Mr. 
Sam11  Moody  our  Minister  and  Pastor  for  his  Preaching  unto 
us  this  year  insuing.  Beginning  att  this  Day  of  the  Date  the 
full  sum  of  Sixty  Pounds,  in  or  as  Money :  the  which  Sixty 
Pounds  shall  be  L,eved  upon  all  Ratable  heads  and  estates 
according  to  Law :  to  be  leved  and  Preportioned  by  the 
Selectmen  of  our  said  Town :  and  Gethered  by  vertue  of  a 
Warrant  from  them  and  Paid  according  to  their  ords  .  .  . 
As  also  a  Day  Work  a  year  of  each  Man  in  this  Town  as 

*  Constitution  of  Maine. 

52 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Was  before  ordered :  and  our  sd  Minister  the  privledg  of  ye 
Parsonage  :  and  it  is  further  ordered  that  ye  Contrebution  be 
Cept  up :  &  all  and  every  of  our  Inhabitanc  that  doe  contri- 
bute Money :  on  Sabath  Day  or  Days,  Doe  put  it  in  Paper 
and  Write  his  or  her  Name  thereon :  in  order  to  Discount 
it  from  or  out  of  their  Tax :  ye  above  Writen  Read  and 
Voted." 

With  the  revival  of  religious  interest  the  first  public  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  support  of  a  schoolmaster.  "... 
Aprill  ye  15th:  1701.  Pursuant  to  a  vote  of  This  Town  for 
a  scool  Master  the  said  Selectmen  Indented  and  Bargened 
With  Mr.  Natha11  ffreman  to  Ceep  a  free  Scool  for  all  ye 
Inhabitanc  of  our  Town  of  York  for  which  the  Town  to  pay 
said  ffreeman  for  one  year  eight  pounds  in.  or  as  Money  and 
three  penc  pr.  week  for  Taching  to  Reade :  and  four  penc  : 
pr  week  for  Writing  and  Sifering  and  no  moor."  Mr.  Free- 
man was  employed  from  year  to  year  until  17 10,  when  he 
contracted  for  the  term  of  seven  years  to  keep  a  "Free  School 
to  instruct  and  teach  all  persons  .  .  .  from  five  years  old  and 
upwards,  that  shall  come  unto  him  ...  in  seasonable  school 
time,  to  begin  at  Eight  of  ye  Clock  in  ye  morning  &  to  con- 
tinue until  Eleven  in  ye  forenoon,  and  in  ye  afternoon  to 
begin  at  one  of  ye  Clock,  and  to  end  at  five  of  ye  Clock,  or 
according  to  ye  Custome  of  Schools ;  to  Teach  all  such  as 
come  unto  him  in  Reading,  Writing  &  Cyphering,  as  they  are 
capable."  The  town  also  promised  "for  ye  encouragement 
of  said  Mr.  Nath11  Freeman  above  named, — as  School-Master, 
to  Build  for  his  own  proper  use  &  benefit  forever  ...  a 
Dwelling  House,  twenty  two  foot  Long,  eighteen  foot  wide 
and  eight  foot  between  joynts,  with  a  brick  Chimney,  with 


53 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

doors,  floors  and  stairs  Convenient,  suitable  to  live  in  .  .  . 
and  to  pay  'a  sallary  Thirty  pounds  pr  year.'  " 

On  somewhat  similar  terms  Dr.  Alexander  Bulman  set- 
tled in  town,  being  "freely  given"  ^ioo  provided  he  gave 
"security  for  his  continuance  in  ye  town  during  life."  Dr. 
Bulman  lived  at  York  Village,  and  led  the  arduous  life  of  the 
early  country  doctor,  gaining  knowledge  largely  by  experi- 
ence, combining  the  duties  of  doctor  and  apothecary,  pound- 
ing his  own  drugs,  healing  as  best  he  knew,  and  standing 
second  only  to  the  judge  and  the  minister.  Dr.  Bulman  died 
in  1745  of  fever  in  the  service  of  the  Crown  at  Louisburg. 
The  next  year  it  was  voted  to  "give  Doct.  Burchstead  of 
Lyn  an  Invitation  to  settle  in  this  Town,"  but  apparently  he 
did  not  come. 

Other  early  physicians  were  Dr.  John  Swett  who  fol- 
lowed Dr.  Bulman,  and  practiced  until  his  death  in  1790. 
He  lived  on  the  south  side  of  York  River,  and  was  active  in 
town  affairs.  Dr.  Job  Lyman,*  a  contemporary  of  Dr.  Swett, 
survived  him.  Their  work  was  taken  up  by  William  Lyman 
and  Josiah  Gilman,  the  latter  a  man  of  positive  and  out- 
spoken views,  of  strong  prejudices,  and  a  firm  believer  in  the 
old  and  common  practice  of  bleeding  patients.  Before  they 
had  passed  away  two  young  physicians  of  the  newer  school, 
Caleb  Eastman  and  Jeremiah  Putnam,  commenced  a  practice 
covering  fifty-six  years,  ending  with  their  death  in  1873  and 
1877  respectively. 

The  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  a  trying  one 
for  the  people  of  the  Province,  and  York  had  already  suffered 
as  had  few  New  England  towns.  Land  grants,  wills  and 
other  conveyances  of   the   period   from    1692   to    17 13   bear 

*Married  the  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Moulton. 

54 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


pathetic  evidence  of  its  dangers,  losses  and  sorrows.  When 
families  were  broken  up  or  wiped  out  of  existence  by  the 
massacre  of  1692,  lands  reverted  to  the  town,  to  be  regranted 
to  newcomers,  and  wills  provided  for  the  possible  return  of 
relatives  "in  captivity  with  the  Indians,"*  or  "carried  captive 
into  Canada."  During  the  year  1704  no  town  record  was 
made.  "The  third  Indian  war  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
Maine,  called  'Queen  Anne's  War,'  broke  out  in  1703,  dur- 
ing which  year  more  grants  of  land  had  been  made  for  set- 
tling purposes  than  in  any  previous  year.  In  the  latter  part 
of  1703  two  of  York's  most  useful  and  energetic  citizens  were 
killed,  to  wit,  Arthur  Bragdon,  Senior,  and  Matthew  Austin. 
In  the  years  1704- 1705  the  war  raged  furiously;  also  in  1706 
and  1707,  when  the  Stover  family  were  slaughtered  .  .  . 
and  Benjamin  Donnell,  a  prominent  man,  was  slain. "t 

Out  of  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  two  decades  of  Indian 
warfare,  there  developed  two  leaders  and  colonial  soldiers, 
Captain  John  Harmon  and  Colonel  Jeremiah  Moulton.  The 
latter,  a  child  of  but  four  years,  could  remember  the  sack 
of  the  town  and  his  escape  through  the  snow.  As  a  youth 
he  saw  the  town  gradually  recover,  to  be  again  endangered 
and  distressed  by  the  third  war.  John  Harmon  had  also 
passed  through  those  trying  days  and  his  name  had  already 
become  known  and  feared  by  the  Indians.  Together,  in 
the  summer  of  1624,  these  men  planned  and  led  the  third, 
and  only  successful  expedition  against  Norridgewock  which 
resulted  in  the  destruction  of  the  Indian  village,  the  tragic 
death  of  Father  Rasle',  the  most   noted  of  French  Catholic 

*See  will  of   Henry  Milbury  providing   for  his  daughter  Dorothy, 
"in  captivity,"  1695;  York  Wills. 
tRecords  of  Nathaniel  G.  Marshall. 

55 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

missionaries  then  in  New  England.  The  destruction  of  this 
mission,  and  the  death  of  this  implacable  leader  of  the 
insurgent  Indians,  marks  the  end  of  French  influence  among 
the  New  England  Indians.  York  men  formed  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  punitive  expedition. 

It  is  authentic  tradition  that  either  John  Harmon  or  his 
kinsmen,  apparently  possessing  an  inborn  hatred  of  the  red- 
skins, enticed  a  band  of  Indians  to  the  shores  of  Meeting 
House  Creek,  in  time  of  peace,  and  there  killed  them. 
Father  Moody,  with  his  accustomed  vigor,  denounced  the 
act,  and  prophesied  it  would  come  to  pass  that  the  name 
of  Harmon  would  cease  to  be  in  the  town.  His  words  have 
come  true,  although  descendants  under  other  names  still 
dwell  here.  The  Harmons  were  an  old  and  influential 
family.  Their  houses  were  on  the  shore  of  York  River  at 
the  Harbor. 

Colonel  Moulton  was  also  sheriff  of  the  County  of  York, 
and  held  various  town  offices.  He  went  with  Sir  William 
Pepperrell  in  the  expedition  against  Louisburg,  being  in 
command  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  Massachusetts  troops. 
Many  York  men  were  under  him,  notably  Francis  Raynes 
and  John  Kingsbury.  The  latter,  a  youth  of  eighteen  years, 
was  wounded  in  the  siege,  and  had  his  leg  amputated  by  I,. 
D.  Leopold,  Surgeon  of  the  Royal  Hospital  and  Convent  at 
Iyouisburg,  so  says  the  surgeon's  receipt  "pour  avoir  fait  la 
amputation  de  la  jambe  de  Mons.  Jean  Kingsbury."  For 
half  a  century  he  stumped  around  on  a  wooden  leg,  a  useful 
citizen  as  Selectman,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  the  Crisis  of  1774.  Colonel  Moulton's  son, 
Jeremiah,  Junior,  was  a  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary  Army 
and   died   from  "army  fever"  in   1777.     He  in  turn  had  a 

56 


OF  THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


son,  Brigadier  General  Jotham  Moulton,  commissioned  Feb- 
ruary 8th,  1776.* 

By  1730  the  Indians  had  been  forced  north  and  eastward, 
life  and  property  in  this  locality  was  becoming  reasonably 
secure,  and  the  inhabitants  had  so  increased  that  the  old  meet- 
ing-house was  too  small — meeting-houses  in  those  days  being 
the  usual  place  for  all  public  gatherings.  Hence  a  commit- 
tee was  chosen  and  reported  "that  ...  an  Addition  be 
made  to  sd  Meetin  House  of  Nine  foot  at  each  End,  that 
there  be  built  a  new  Plain  Roofe  &  [a  steeple]  at  ye  West 
end."  The  Parish  in  1744  voted  to  build  "a  new  meeting 
house  where  ye  old  one  now  stands,  seventy  feet  long  and 
fifty  feet  wide."  Three  years  later,  in  the  last  days  of 
Father  Moody,  the  old  house  was  torn  down  and  the  "stuff  & 
material"  went  into  the  construction  of  the  present  First 
Parish  church,  which  stood,  with  minor  changes,  until  1881, 
when  it  was  remodeled  to  its  present  condition. 

As  in  most  old  New  England  towns,  affairs  of  the  parish, 
land  grants,  acts  of  charity,  and  of  public  defense  are  all 
intermingled  in  the  town  records.  The  following  scattered 
extracts  shed  light  on  the  life  of  the  period. 

"March  12,  1727.  Voted  that  forty  pounds  be  raised  and 
delivered  to  our  reverend  pastor  towards  the  defraying  the 
charges  of  Mrs.  Moody's  funeral." 

"1730.  Voted  that  if  any  person  or  persons  are  disposed 
to  fence  in  the  Burying  Place  near  the  Meeting  House  at  their 
own  cost,  they  have  Liberty  to  do  the  same,  provided  it  be 
done  with  a  decent  and  sufficient  fence." 

"1731.  Voted  that  the  Select  Men  be  desired  to  prosecute 
in   the   L,aw   Mr.    Zaccheus   Trafton   for  entertaining   John 

"Catalogue  of  the  old  Gaol,  p.  24,  ed.  1903. 

57 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

Deland  contrary  to  I,aw,  who  is  become  a  Town  charge,  if 
they  see  cause  of  Action :  Zaccheus  Trafton  enters  his  dissent 
against  this  Vote." 

"Voted  that  the  Thanks  of  this  Town  be  given  to  our 
Representative  Mr.  Richard  Milberry,  for  his  good  Service  in 
Standing  by  the  Priviledges  of  this  Province,  in  the  General 
Assembly  &  That  he  be  desired  to  continue  to  do  the  same." 

"1732.  Whereas  John  Smith  hath  by  God's  Providence 
lost  one  of  [his]  Leggs,  &  has  been  at  great  Expense  in 
obtaining  a  Cure  &c,  Therefore  granted  to  sd  John  Smith  the 
Sum  of  Fifty  Pounds." 

Nearly  every  town  meeting  for  a  hundred  years  or  more 
passed  votes  in  substance  as  follows : 

"Voted  there  be  liberty  for  swine  to  go  at  large  well  yoked 
&  ringed  as  the  law  diredts." 

"Voted  that  Four  Pounds  be  paid  out  of  the  Town  Stock 
for  every  grown  Wolf  that  shall  be  killed  within  the  Bounds 
of  this  Town." 

At  a  meeting  held  January  28,  1734,  the  town  did  its  part 
toward  providing  a  court  house. 

"Voted  that  this  Town  will  Joyn  with  ye  County  in  build- 
ing of  a  Court  House  in  this  Town,  which  House  shall  be  for 
ye  Use  of  sd  County  to  hold  Courts  in  &  for  a  Town  House 
for  ye  Use  of  this  Town,  to  meet  in,  on  all  Public  Times,  if 
they  see  cause :  The  Dementions  of  sd  House  to  be  as  fol- 
loweth,  viz:  Thirty  Five  Foot  Long  &  Twenty  eight  Foot 
wide :  Twenty  Foot  Stud :  the  lower  Story  Eight  Feet  &  a 
Half  high  :  the  upper  Eleven  Feet  and  a  Half,  and  ye  Beames 
of  ye  Upper  Story  to  be  crowning,  Eighteen  Inches,  &  to 
have  a  Pitchd  Roofe ;  both  Rooms  to  be  Plaistered  &  White- 
washed and  well  Glaized  with  Sash  Glass,  and  to  be  Finished 

58 


OF    THE   TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


with  Joynery  Work,  according  to  ye  direction  of  ye  Com- 
ittee,  that  are  &  shall  be  appointed  by  the  County  &  Town, 
and  yt  the  one  Half  of  ye  Charges  arrising  in  building 
&  Finishing  sd  House,  shall  be  bourne  by  this  Town." 
Another  court  house  was  built  in  1811,  being,  in  fact,  the 
present  town  hall  at  York  Village.  It  probably  stands  a 
little  back  from  the  site  of  its  predecessor.  Until  1760  York 
was  the  shire  town  for  the  whole  Province  of  Maine.  There- 
after it  was  the  shire  town  for  the  County  of  York  until  1832, 
when  the  county  offices  and  records  were  removed  to  Alfred. 
Probate  Court  continued  to  be  held  in  York,  at  stated  times, 
until  1 87 1. 

This  resolution  passed  in  town  meeting,  March  12,  1734  : 
"Whereas,  It  is  an  Indesent  thing  the  Dogs  Should  be 
suffered  to  come  into  the  Place  of  Publick  Worship,  in  Time 
of  Divine  Service,  &  is  often  the  occasion  of  great  disorder  & 
disturbance  by  their  Quaraling  &  fiting  .  .  .  Therefore, 
Voted  &  enacted  that  if  any  Person,  .  .  .  shall  suffer  his  or 
her  Dog  to  come  into  either  of  the  Places  of  Publick  Wor- 
ship, ...  in  time  of  Divine  Service,  the  Person,  so  offend- 
ing shall  Forfeit  and  pay  to  the  Use  of  the  Poor  .  .  .  the 
Sum  of  Five  shillings  to  be  Recovered  by  the  overseers  of  the 
Poor,  before  any  of  his  Majesties  Justices  of  ye  Pea.  in  this 
County." 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  many  people  were  accus- 
tomed to  bring  their  dogs  to  the  church  door.  Sunday  ser- 
vices were  long,  consuming  much  of  the  day,  and  those  who 
attended  from  the  outskirts  of  the  town  probably  did  not, 
even  as  late  as  1734,  feel  wholly  free  from  the  danger  of 
attack  by  a  few  marauding  Indians  not  unwilling  to  take 
life  by  ambuscade  if  opportunity  was  presented.     Within  less 

59 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

than  a  decade  men  had  been  killed  in  Berwick  and  in  Kit- 
tery,  and  the  Eastern  Indians  had  not  yet  concluded  the 
final  treaty  of  peace  with  Massachusetts  Bay.  Moreover, 
the  flocks  were  for  many  years  to  come  endangered  by 
wolves,  which  were  under  the  ban  of  a  large  bounty.  Hence 
keen  and  faithful  dogs  were  many  and  were  deemed  a  protec- 
tion, both  to  life  and  property,  and  were  undoubtedly  quite 
constant  companions  of  the  masters  and  their  families. 

The  territorial  limits  of  the  Borough  of  Agamenticus,  as 
well  as  the  City  of  Gorgeana,  were  defined  with  reasonable 
certainty,  and  in  1652  the  Town  of  York  embraced  the  same 
limits,  which  remain  today  substantially  unchanged.*  Aside 
from  the  lots  parcelled  out  to  the  first  settlers,  there  remained 
a  great  tradl  of  wild  and  primeval  land  mostly  lying  back 
from  the  river  and  coast.  This  was  the  "Comon  lands"  held 
by  the  town,  from  which  for  good  cause  lots  were  granted  by 
vote  of  the  freeholders  and  laid  out  to  new  settlers  and 
worthy  residents.  The  grant  would  be  by  brief  vote,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  fair  example:  "Granted  to  Mr: 
Sam11  Doniel  fifteen  acres  of  Land  between  the  Land  of 
Stephen  Preble  desed  and  ye  Little  fresh  Brook  cal'd  the 
fresh  water,  if  he  can  find  it  Cleer  of  all  former  Grants." 
Subsequently  the  grantee  would  see  that  his  grant  was  duly 
"laid  out"  and  surveyed  by  the  town  surveyor  and  entered  on 
the  town  records.  Occasionally  the  vote  was  coupled  with 
the  condition  that  the  grantee  should  "come  and  settle  in 
this  town."  Such  are  quite  frequent  immediately  following 
the  devastation  of   1692.     Among   the  earliest   and  choicest 

*It  will  be  noted  that  the  northeasterly  boundary  has  been  some- 
what extended.     See  city  limits,  p.  38. 

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OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


grants  were  those  "for  the  use  of  ye  Ministry,"  some  of 
which  are  still  held  by  the  First  Parish. 

By  1732  the  remaining  common  lands  lay  well  inland 
around  Mount  Agamenticus.  Becoming  more  inaccessible, 
it  was  less  practicable  for  the  town  as  a  body  to  manage  them, 
especially  to  prevent  trespassing  and  cutting  of  timber. 
Hence  in  that  year  it  sought  a  "just  &  equal  method  to 
order  &  dispose  of  the  Common  and  undivided  Land." 
Fifteen  leading  citizens  were  constituted  a  committee.  Some 
months  later  their  report  was  made  and  rejected;  "and  after 
long  Debates"  and  an  adjournment,  it  was  "severally  put 
to  vote  how  many  of  Eight  shares  each  man  shall  have — 
None  to  have  more  than  Eight  Shares."  About  three  hun- 
dred shareholders  were  thus  constituted,  and  thenceforth 
became  the  Proprietors  of  the  Common  Lands.  This  body 
held  meetings  and  kept  its  organization  until  about  1820. 
By  that  time  all  of  the  original  tract,  however  remote, 
embraced  in  the  grants  of  Gorges  and  his  agents,  had  been 
reduced  to  individual  possession. 

In  1743  the  town  "Granted  unto  Such  Person  or  Persons 
as  will  accept  of  &  undertake  it,  Liberty  to  Build  a  Bridge  at 
their  own  Cost  over  York  River,  Some  where  between  Col. 
Harmons  Wharfe  and  Mr.  Donnells  Point  of  Rocks,  above 
the  Ferry :  Provided  there  be  a  sufficient  way  Left  for  Sloops 
to  Pass  &  Repass,  and  the  Inhabitants  to  have  free  liberty 
Pass  over  the  Same  without  any  thing  to  Pay.  (Francis 
Raynes  enters  his  Desent  aGainst  the  above  or  last  Vote.)" 

"Voted  that  if  said  Bridge  shall  be  built  over  said  River, 
it  Shall  be,  by  Capt.  Samuel  Sewalls  Wharfe.  (Thomas 
Donnell  enters  his  desent  aGainst  the  Last  Vote.)" 


61 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

Why  Francis  Raynes,  who  lived  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  objected  to  passing  over  both  free  and  dryshod 
instead  of  by  boat  cannot  be  well  imagined.  Probably 
Thomas  Donnell  was  protecting  his  ferry  interests.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  an  agitation  which,  in  1757,  resulted  in  the 
construction  of  the  first  pile  drawbridge  in  America.  The 
builder  was  Samuel  Sewall,  an  engineer  of  wide  reputation, 
who  was  engaged  years  later  in  the  construction  of  the  first 
Charles  River  bridge.  Soundings  were  made  and  the  length 
of  each  pile  made  accordingly ;  and  all  four  were  then  joined 
by  a  cap  piece  and  braced.  This  section,  or  pier,  was  then 
floated  to  its  proper  place  and  driven  home  by  a  heavy  log 
arranged  as  a  trip  hammer,  rather  than  as  the  modern  pile 
driver.  Major  Sewall's  plans  still  exist  and  may  be  seen  in 
the  Gaol  Museum.  Those  who  saw  the  ingeniously  con- 
trived float  of  Mr.  George  Main  in  the  historical  parade  of 
August  5th,  could  gain  an  excellent  idea  of  the  method  of 
construction  of  the  original  bridge.  It  is  said  that  some 
of  the  original  piles  may  still  be  found  protruding  from  the 
mud  under  the  present  bridge,  which  is  a  substantial  con- 
tinuation of  the  original  structure,  repaired  and  strengthened 
from  time  to  time  to  meet  the  increasing  burdens. 

In  1740  it  was  voted  "that  the  Select  Men  take  into  their 
charge  all  the  Great  Gunns  that  belong  to  the  Town  &  keep 
them  in  their  possession,  till  further  orders,"  and  seven  years 
later  it  was  voted  "That  Capt.  Nath11  Donnell,  Capt.  Samuel 
Sewall  and  Samuel  Bragdon  Jnr  be  and  hereby  are  Impow- 
ered  to  dispose  of  the  Great  Guns  belonging  to  this  Town, 
and  Purchas  Smaller  on  [es]  with  the  Produce  of  them,  for 
the  Use  of  this  Town  according  to  their  discression,  and  to 
be  dun  as  soon  as  Conveniently  may  be." 

62 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Two  of  these  remained  in  existence  until  quite  recent  years, 
when  the  town,  not  realizing  their  historical  value,  in  a 
spasm  of  economy  allowed  them  to  be  sold  as  old  iron  for 
ballast  to  the  captain  of  a  coasting  schooner.  One  was  taken 
out  at  a  down-east  port  and  used  at  a  Fourth-of-July  cele- 
bration, where  it  burst.  The  other  sunk  with  the  schooner. 
How  old  the  "Great  Guns"  were  no  one  knows,  but  tradi- 
tion says  they  were  sent  over  by  Gorges. 

In  these  vigorous  temperance  times  in  the  State  of  Maine 
it  is  of  interest  to  learn  the  local  sentiment  of  a  century  and 
a  half  ago  relative  to  liquor  legislation,  although  we  do  not 
know  how  stringent  the  proposed  bill  may  have  been. 

"At  a  Legal  Town  Meeting  holden  in  York,  Aug1  i,  1754, 
Jeremiah  Moulton,  Esq.,  chosen  Moderator. 

"The  extradt  of  the  Bill  relating  to  the  Private  Consumption 
of  Spirituous  L,iquors,  within  this  Province,  with  his  Excel- 
lency, the  Govern"  Speech  thereon  being  read,  and,  after 
mature  consideration  and  Debate  upon  the  same ; 

"Voted,  That  the  said  Bill  (in  the  apprehention  of  the 
Town)  is  Grievous,  burthensome  and  Inconsistent  with  the 
natural  Rights  of  every  private  Person  &  Family :  .  .  .  and 
that  Mr.  John  Bradbury,  their  Representative,  not  only  con- 
tinue his  Endeavours  against  the  said  Bills  passing,  and  there- 
by comply  with  the  Sentiments  of  his  Constituents,  but  also 
Return  his  Excellency  the  Thanks  of  this  Town,  for  his 
Paternal  care  of  their  Rights  and  Privileges,  so  dear  to  them, 
and  giving  them  opportunity  of  standing  up  for  the  same, 
praying  his  Excellency  the  Bill  may  not  pass  into  a  I^aw." 

On  November  20th,  1772,  the  Town  of  Boston,  at  a  legal 
meeting  received  the  report  of  its  Committee  of  Correspond- 
ence, prepared  by  James  Otis.     There  assembled,  the  towns- 

63 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

people  took  issue  with  the  King  and  Parliament,  protesting 
against  the  raising  of  revenue'  without  consent  of  the  col- 
onies, the  appointment  of  unconstitutional  officers,  supported 
by  fleets  and  armies  in  times  of  peace — twelve  men-of-war 
were  then  in  Boston  harbor — the  restrictions  on  manufac- 
turers, and  many  other  grievances.  They  also  voted  to 
appeal  to  all  towns  in  the  colony  "that  the  collected  wisdom 
and  fortitude  of  the  whole  people  might  dictate  measures 
for  the  rescue  of  their  happy  and  glorious  constitution."* 
"These  worthy  New  Englanders,"  said  Chatham,  as  he  read 
the  report,  "ever  feel  as  Old  Englanders  ought  to  do."  Act- 
ing on  this  appeal  the  freeholders  of  York  assembled  on 
Monday,  December  28th,  1772,  and  took  action  which  was  in 
full  accord  with  the  movement  for  the  colonial  union,  so  soon 
to  take  formal  shape,  and  develop  beyond  the  control  of  royal 
governors  and  their  misguided  sovereign. 

York's  action  was  as  follows  : 

"1.  Resolved:  That  as  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town  are 
faithful  and  loyal  Subjects  of  his  Most  Gracious  Majesty, 
King  George  the  third,  they  are  well  Intitled  to  his  most 
Gracious  favour ;  and  to  be  protected  and  secured,  not  only 
in  their  natural  and  Constitutional  Rights  as  Englishmen, 
Christians  and  Subjects ;  but  in  all  and  every  the  Rights  and 
Priviledges  contained  in  the  Royal  Charter  of  the  Province. 

"2.  Resolved,  as  the  opinion  of  this  Town,  that  divers  of 
those  Rights,  Liberties  and  Priviledges  have  been  broken  in 
upon  and  much  Infringed,  to  the  great  Grievance  of  this 
Town,  and  Justly  alarming  to  the  Province. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Town,  It's 
highly   necessary   some   just    and    reasonable   measures    be 

♦Bancroft,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  423. 

64 


OF  THE  TOWN  OF  YORK,  MAINE. 


adopted  for  the  Speedy  Redress  of  such  Grievances,  so 
burdensome  and  Distressing  to  us :  which  if  made  known  to 
our  most  Gracious  Sovereign — we  cant  but  flatter  ourselves 
(as  our  cause  is  so  just)  that  would  be  pleased  to  remove 
them. 

"4.  Voted,  that  our  Representative  at  the  Gener1  Court, 
use  his  utmost  Influence  and  Endeavors  for  the  speedy- 
Redress  of  our  Grievances,  in  such  wise  moderate  and  pru- 
dent way  and  manner,  as  shall  appear  to  him  most  fit, 
&  likely  to  take  effedr, ;  and  as  his  Wisdom  and  Judgment 
shall  dictate. 

"5.  Voted,  that  the  Clerk  give  out  a  Copy  of  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Town  at  this  Meeting  to  the  Select  Men,  who  are 
desired  to  Transmit  the  same  to  the  Selectmen  of  Boston; 
with  the  Thanks  of  this  Town  to  that  Town  for  the  early 
care  they  have  taken  of  our  Invaluable  Rights  and  Privi- 
ledges,  and  the  Zeal  they  have  for  preserving  the  same." 

Thomas  Bragdon,  Esquire,  was  the  town's  representative 
at  the  General  Court  which  convened  at  Boston,  January 
6,  1773,  in  a  memorable  session,  which  baffled  Governor 
Hutchinson  and  transmitted  the  proceedings  of  Boston  in 
organizing  provincial  Committees  of  Correspondence,  to 
Richard  Henry  L,ee  of  Virginia.  Two  months  later  the 
burgesses  of  Virginia,  led  by  Lee,  Carr  and  Patrick  Henry, 
responded  to  the  suggestions  of  the  Massachusetts  legislators, 
and  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  the  union  of  the  colonies. 

While  it  is  not  claimed  that  York  outdistanced  all  other 
towns  in  hurling  defiance  at  his  Brittanic  Majesty,  yet  it  is 
evident  that  its  leaders  were  men  of  affairs,  keen,  able,  and 
possessing  in  full  measure  the  pervading  spirit  of  free  govern- 
ment.    They  knew  and  could  draw  the  distinction  between 

65 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


so-called  traitors,  or  revolutionists,  and  God-fearing  English- 
men protesting  against  oppression.  Did  Otis  or  Hancock 
or  Adams  speak  more  clearly  than  the  following  expression  ? 

"At  a  Meeting  of  the  Freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  York,  regularly  assembled  at  the  Town  House, 
on  Monday  the  20th.  Day  of  Janry,  1774, 

"The  Honble  John  Bradbury  Esq.  chosen  Moderator. 

"The  Town  immediately  proceed  to  choose  a  Comtee 
namely :  The  Honble  John  Bradbury,  Esqr  Thomas  Bragdon 
Esqr  Capt.  Joseph  Holt,  Capt.  Dan1  Bragdon,  Capt.  Edward 
Grow  &  Mr.  John  Kingsbury  to  consider  in  what  manner  the 
Town's  Sentiments  may  be  best  expressed  on  the  present 
Important  Crisis,  and  make  Report  to  this  Meeting  upon  ye 
Adjournment  tomorrow. 

"Voted  this  Meeting  be  Adjourned  to  tomorrow,  two 
oClock  afternoon. 

"Upon  the  Adjournment  viz1  :  Tuesday  Jan.  21st.  two 
oClock  afternoon : 

"The  said  Comtee  Reported,  which,  with  the  Amendments, 
is  as  follows : 

"The  Comtee  appointed  by  the  Town  to  Consider  in  what 
manner  the  Sentiments  may  be  best  express' d  on  the  present 
Crisis,  beg  leave  to  Report: 

"That  the  People  in  the  British  American  Colonies,  by 
their  Constitution  of  Government,  have  a  Right  to  Freedom, 
and  an  Exemption  from  every  Degree  of  Oppression  & 
Slavery. 

"That  it  is  an  Essential  Right  of  Freemen  to  have  the  dis- 
posal of  their  own  Property,  and  not  be  Tax'd  by  any  Power, 
over  which  they  have  no  Control. 

"That  the  Parliamentary  Duty  L,aid  upon  Teas  landed  in 

66 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


America  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a  Revenue,  is  in 
Effect  a  Tax  upon  the  Americans,  without  their  consent. 

"That  the  several  Colonies  and  Provinces  in  America  have 
ever  Recognized  the  Protestant  Kings  of  Great  Britian  as 
their  lawful  Soverign :  and  it  doth  not  appear,  that  any  Par- 
liament have  been  parties  to  any  Contract,  made  with  the 
American  Settlers  in  this  howling  Wilderness. 

"That  this  Town  approve  the  Constitution  Exertions  & 
Struggles  made  by  the  Opulent  Colonies  through  the  Conti- 
nent, for  preventing  so  fatal  a  Catasthrophe,  as  is  Implied  in 
Taxation  without  Representation:  and  that  we  are,  and 
always  will  be  ready,  in  every  Constitutional  Way,  to  give  all 
assistance  in  our  Power  to  prevent  so  Dire  a  Calamity. 

"That  a  Dread  of  being  Enslaved  ourselves,  and,  of  Trans- 
mitting the  Chains  to  our  Posterity,  is  the  Principle  Induce- 
ment to  these  Measures. 

"Voted  that  the  Sincere  Thanks  of  this  Town  are  Justly 
due,  and  hereby  are  given  all  such  Persons  in  this,  and  the 
several  Provinces  &  Colonies  on  the  American  Continent, 
especially  to  our  Brethren  of  the  Town  of  Boston,  so  far  as 
they  have  Constitutionally  exerted  themselves  in  the  Support 
of  their  Just  Liberties  and  Privileges." 

Daniel  Moulton,  Town  Clerk,  adds:  "Which  was  Read 
Paragraff  by  Paragraff  and  accepted,  and,  thereupon  Voted 
that  the  Town  Clerk  Transmit  a  fair  Copy  to  the  Town  Clerk 
of  Boston:  and  then  the  Meeting  was  dissolved." 

The  news  from  Lexington  reached  York  about  nine  o'clock 
on  the  evening  of  April  20th.  Before  the  next  sundown  a 
company  of  over  sixty  men,  under  Capt.  Johnson  Moulton, 
equipped  and  provisioned,  had  marched  from  the  town  and 
crossed   the  Piscataqua   to   join   the  troops   around   Boston. 

67 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Thus,  beyond  question,  York  has  the  distinction  of  having 
sent  forth  from  the  State  the  first  soldiers  in  the  struggle  for 
liberty.* 

On  this  same  twenty-first  of  April,  the  remaining  citizens 
assembled  and  in  meeting 

"Voted  that  the  several  Constables  as  have  any  of  the  pub- 
lic Moneys  of  this  Provce  in  their  Hands,  or  have  any  to 
Gather,  &  have  hitherto  neglected  to  pay  the  same :  That 
they  forthwith  Collect  and  pay  the  same  to  Henry  Gardner, 
Esqr  agreeable  to  the  proposal  of  the  Provincial  Congress : 
and  that  this  Town  will  Indemnify  them  for  their  so  doing. 

"Voted  that  if  the  Constables  are  Deficient  in  their  Collec- 
tions or  any  part  thereof,  such  Deficiency  shall  be  hired  and 
sent  up  by  the  Selectmen  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  said 
Gardner. 

"Voted  that  Messrs.  John  Swett,  Edwd  Grow,  Sam1  Har- 
ris, Joseph  Grant  &  Jereh  Weare  be  a  Comtee  to  Correspond 
with  the  several  Towns  in  this  Province. 

"Voted  that  there  be  a  Military  Night  Watch  at  the  Har- 
bour's Mouth,  Constantly  kept:  of  four  men  each  night:  two 
on  each  Side  and  the  Col°  of  the  Regiment  of  Militia  be 
desired  to  regulate  the  same,  and  to  include  those  of  the 
Alarm  L,ist. 

"Voted  that  the  Selectmen  at  the  Towns  expense  procure 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  Indian  Corn,  as  they  shall  Judge 
necessary  for  the  Town's  Stock,  &  to  be  delt  out  according 
to  their  discretion." 

The  meeting  further"  Voted  that  the  Comtee  of  Inspection, 
with  Jotham  Moulton,  Esq.  Sam1  Jnnkins  &  Matthew  Richie, 

*See  "Capt.  Johnson  Moulton's  Company,"  address  by  Nathan 
Goold,  Esq.,  Maine  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  1899. 

68 


•      is 


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OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


be  a  Comtee  to  Waite  on  Jonathn  Sayward,  Esq.  for  a  View 
of  such  L,ettr  or  Letters  as  he  has  receivd.  from  the  late 
Govr  Hutchinson,  or  others  &  make  such  Remarks  upon  the 
same  as  they  think  necessary  &  make  report  to  this  meeting 
on  the  adjournment.  Town  having  been  somewhat  uneasy 
and  disaffected  with  conduct  of  Jonathan  Sayward,  Esq.  sup- 
posing to  be  not  hearty  &  free  for  the  support  &  Defence  of 
our  Rights,  Liberties  &  Privileges  in  this  Dark  &  difficult 
Day,  but  rather  favoured  the  contrary:  He  came  into  the 
Meeting  &  made  a  Speach  upon  the  Subject :  Whereupon 
the  Town  Voted  it  was  Satisfactory." 

Jonathan  Sayward,  thus  suspected  of  holding  Tory  princi- 
ples, regained  the  confidence  of  his  townsmen.  Nothing  is 
known  to  confirm  their  suspicion.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
the  Governor  did  correspond  with  Sayward,  since  the  latter 
was  a  man  of  influence  in  the  community  and  wealthy  for 
those  days.  For  many  successive  years,  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  had  been  York's  representative  to  the  General  Court 
at  Boston.  Undoubtedly  he  had  then  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Hutchinson,  as  a  fellow  representative  from  Boston. 
To  men  of  Sayward's  type  and  interests,  and  of  his  years,  it 
meant  much  to  take  the  irretraceable  step  of  his  townsmen 
on  that  twenty-first  of  April.  With  many  other  York  men 
Sayward  was  in  the  expedition  against  Louisburg  in  1745, 
commanding  the  sloop  "Sea  Flower."  His  ancestors  were 
mill  owners  as  early  as  1658.  He  engaged  largely  in  South- 
ern and  West  Indian  trade.  His  wharves  are  gone,  but  his 
house  stands,  with  its  white  oak  sills,  upon  the  banks  of 
York  River  at  the  harbor.  On  its  walls  hangs  the  portrait 
by  Copley  of  the  only  daughter,  the  beautiful  Sally  Sayward, 
together  with  the  portraits  of  her  parents  by  Blackburn,  the 

69 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

teacher  of  Copley.  Sally  Say  ward  married  Nathaniel  Bar- 
rell,  an  old  York  family  originating  in  Hertfordshire,  Eng- 
land.* 

June  5th,  1776,  a  month  before  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, the  town  instructed  Joseph  Simpson,  Esq.,  its  rep- 
resentative, to  advise  the  General  Court:  "That  if  the 
Honble  Congress  should  for  the  safety  of  the  Colonies  declare 
them  Independent  of  the  Kingdom  of  great  Britain,  they 
the  sd  inhabitants  will  Solemnly  engage  with  their  Lives  and 
Fortunes  to  Support  them  in  the  measure." 

Under  date  of  the  12th  of  August  of  that  year,  recorded  in 
the  plain,  even  handwriting  of  Daniel  Moulton,t  for  nearly 
forty  years  town  clerk,  appears  in  full  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  This  was  spread  upon  the  records  pursuant 
to  an  order  of  Council,  July  17,  1776,  providing  that  "a  copy 
be  sent  to  the  minister  of  each  Parish  and  of  every  denomina- 
tion within  this  State  :  and  that  they  severally  be  required  to 
read  the  same  to  their  respective  congregations  as  soon  as 
divine  service  is  ended  in  the  afternoon  of  the  first  Lord's 
Day  after  they  shall  have  reced  it, — and  after  such  Publica- 
tion thereof  to  deliver  the  said  Declaration  to  the  clerks  of 
their  several  towns  .  .  .  who  are  hereby  required  to  record 
the  same  .  .  .  there  to  remain  as  a  perpetual  MEMORIAL, 
thereof." 

Throughout  the  revolution  the  town's  records  show  that  it 
bristled  with  patriotism  ;  and  the  part  it  played  in  the  great 
struggle  has  never  been  adequately  told.  The  majority,  both 
of  officers  and  of  rank  and  file,  who  on  April  21st,  1775,  set 

*The  old  Sayward   house   is   now  the  summer  home  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Wheeler  of  Worcester. 
tDaniel  Moulton  was  son  of  Col.  Jeremiah  Moulton. 

70 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


out  on  their  forced  march  toward  Lexington,  later  saw  active 
service.  Capt.  Johnson  Moulton  became  Lieutenant  Colonel 
of  the  7th  Continental  Regiment  under  Prescott,  and  took 
part  in  the  Long  Island  campaign.  Other  York  men  in  the 
war  were  Capt.  James  Donnell,  who  was  in  the  siege  of  Bos- 
ton, at  Ticonderoga,  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  at  Valley 
Forge,  and  at  Monmouth.  Another  was  Maj.  Samuel  Darby, 
who  commanded  a  York  County  company  at  Valley  Forge 
and  who  saw  hard  service  elsewhere. 

Bounties  were  repeatedly  provided,  guns,  ammunition  and 
clothing  supplied,  and  every  effort  was  apparently  made  to 
fill  the  town's  quota ;  saving  only  one  occasion  in  September, 
1777,  when  meeting  declined  to  vote  money  "for  the  encour- 
agement of  those  who  will  enlist  in  the  Continental  Army  for 
three  years  or  during  the  War." 

L,ess  than  a  month  previous  every  militia  man  who  marched 
4 'to  the  Reinforcement  of  the  American  Army  and  continue 
in  service,  till  the  last  of  Nover.  next"  was  voted  six  pounds 
"as  a  Bounty  over  and  above  .  .  .  Wages  and  Rations."  This 
action,  although  patriotic  in  intention,  was  but  a  sample  of 
that  which  Gen.  Washington  repeatedly  protested  against, 
and  from  which  the  American  forces,  both  north  and  south, 
suffered  so  much  in  effectiveness.  During  the  first  years  of 
the  war  short  enlistments  and  the  consequent  uncertainties 
and  constant  changes  in  the  forces  were  a  source  of  weakness 
and  positive  danger  to  the  cause  of  independence.  Other 
and  even  sufficient  reasons,  which  do  not  appear  of  record, 
may  have  led  to  this  action  of  September,  1777  ;  we  trust 
so.  On  no  other  occasion  does  it  appear  that  York  failed 
to  aid  and  encourage  both  the  Continental  army  and  the 
militia. 

71 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

For  half  a  century  York's  foremost  citizen  was  David 
Sewall.  He  was  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1755,  a 
classmate  and  lifelong  friend  of  John  Adams.  He  was 
admitted  an  attorney  in  1760,  and  thenceforth  for  sixty-four 
years,  he  was  closely  identified  with  the  town's  interests,  his 
name  appearing  on  almost  every  recorded  page  of  the  town 
meetings. 

It  was  during  the  administration  of  President  Washington 
that  he  built  his  beautiful,  stately  residence,  now  known  as 
Coventry  Hall,*  the  summer  home  of  Rev.  Frank  Sewall, 
D.  D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  Here  Judge  Sewall  entertained 
President  Munroe  on  his  "progress"  eastward.  The  Presi- 
dent traveled  in  his  private  coach,  the  horses  being  furnished 
en  route,  and  the  officers  of  the  York  County  regiment  of 
militia,  mounted,  acting  as  escort  from  the  Maine  line.  The 
President  was  met  at  the  Wilcox  tavern  by  Judge  Sewall  and 
escorted  with  great  solemnity  to  his  mansion  on  the  hill. 

David  Sewall  was  buried  in  the  old  burying  ground. 
Upon  his  tombstone  is  engraved  : 

Consecrated  to  the  memory  of  the 

Hon.  David  Sewall,  I/L.  D. 
An    elevated    benevolence    was    happily    directed    by    an 
enlightened    intellect.      Conscientious    in  duty   he   was  ever 
faithful  in  its  discharge.     Piety  with  patriarchal  simplicity  of 
manners  conspired  to  secure  him  universal  esteem. 

•Coventry  Hall  is  named  from  Coventry,  England,  whence  Henry 
Sewall,  son  of  the  mayor  of  the  town,  migrated  to  Newbury,  Mass.,  in 
1634 ;  from  him  and  his  wife,  Jane  Dummer,  are  descended  the  Sewalls 
of  New  England.  For  a  further  account  of  Coventry  Hall  and  its 
building,  with  portrait  of  David  Sewall,  see  the  article  "In  an  old 
Colonial  Library,"  in  the  New  England  Magazine  for  December,  1895, 
by  Rev.  Frank  Sewall. 

72 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


His  home  was  the  abode  of  hospitality  &  friendship.  In 
him  the  defenceless  found  a  protector,  the  poor  a  Benefactor, 
the  Community  a  Peacemaker,  Science,  Social  Order  &  Reli- 
gion an  efficient  Patron. 

Distinguished  for  his  patriotism,  talents  and  integrity,  he 
was  early  called  to  important  public  offices  which  he  sustained 
with  fidelity  and  honor. 

Having  occupied  the  Bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  and  District  Court  of  the  U.  States  with  dignified 
uprightness  for  forty  years  without  one  failure  of  attendance, 
he  retired  from  public  life  in  1818  and  died  Oct.  22,  1825  aged 
XC  years. 

DEATH  but  entombs  the  body, 
LIFE  the  Soul. 

The  war  of  181 2  was  hardly  more  popular  in  York  than  in 
most  other  New  England  seaboard  towns.  Yet  a  volunteer 
company  was  maintained,  and  the  river's  mouth  was  guarded 
by  a  battery  on  Fort  Head.  The  ramparts  there  are  still 
quite  clearly  defined.  Moreover,  on  one  occasion  the  towns- 
people had  an  opportunity  to  show  their  mettle,  and  they 
responded  in  no  uncertain  way.  It  happened  that  in  the 
summer  of  1814  the  British  fleet,  with  H.  M.  S.  Bulwark, 
seventy-four  guns,  flagship,  was  blockading  Portsmouth  and 
the  adjacent  ports.  The  primary  object  was  to  destroy  ship- 
ping at  Kittery  navy  yard.  The  British  had  captured  a  small 
pink-sterned  schooner  named  the  Juno,  put  swivel-guns 
aboard  and  with  an  armed  crew  were  capturing  and  burning 
unsuspecting  coastwise  craft.  One  Sunday  while  the  Juno 
was  pursuing  a  fisherman  up  the  coast  several  of  the  towns- 
people saw  the  chase  and  with  muskets  hurried  out  to  the 
Nubble.  Concealing  themselves  they  signalled  the  pursued 
to  stand  in  close.     In  she  came  by  the  point,  and  the  Juno 


73 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

followed.  As  the  latter  passed  the  half  dozen  men  behind 
rocks  opened  fire.  When  a  Donnell  fired  a  red-shirted  sailor 
fell.  The  British  ineffectually  returned  the  shots,  although 
a  bullet  spatted  upon  the  flat  rock  which  Donnell  had  placed 
before  himself.  The  Juno  was  forced  to  bear  off,  and  the 
fisherman  escaped.  The  shooting  and  death  of  the  British 
sailor  was  confirmed  by  captives  then  on  the  Juno,  but  who 
were  soon  after  released.  All  this  fusilade  led  to  further 
alarm.  A  man  rushed  to  the  doorway  of  the  First  Parish 
meeting-house,  but  stood  silent  until  Rev.  Mr.  Messenger  fin- 
ished his  prayer.  He  then  announced,  "I  think  the  British 
are  landing  on  the  Nubble."  The  congregation  was  dis- 
missed, the  York  artillery,  an  independent  company,  mus- 
tered and  with  its  single  field-piece  forthwith  started  to  meet 
the  enemy.  When  the  company  had  reached  L,ong  Beach 
the  cause  of  the  alarm  became  known  and  the  march  ended. 

The  spirit  which  hastened  those  untrained  militiamen  to 
meet  British  seamen  was  the  same  which  impelled  their 
fathers  toward  Lexington  on  that  April  morning  in  1775. 
They  thought,  with  good  reason,  that  the  enemy  was  at 
hand,  yet  they  did  not  know  in  what  numbers  ;  nor  did  they 
wait  to  learn.  Forthwith  they  went  out  to  meet  him,  pre- 
pared to  do  their  best. 

South  of  the  meeting-house  lies  the  old  burying  ground, 
the  resting  place  of  generations  both  known  and  forgotten. 
For  two  and  a  half  centuries  it  has  been  God's  Acre  until  no 
vacant  spot  remains  within  its  enclosure,  in  fact  today  the 
present  generation  walks  and  drives  unwittingly  over  the 
graves  of  its  ancestors  beneath  the  highway  which  has 
encroached  upon  its  eastern  side.  Among  the  graves  com- 
monly pointed  out  is  the  so-called  "Witch's  Grave"  with  a 

74 


Skwael's  Bridge,  York  River. 


"The  Witch's  Grave,"  Old  Burying  Ground. 


OF    THE   TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


heavy  stone  slab  resting  its  length  between  the  headstone  and 
footstone,  but  no  witch  lies  buried  here.  A  century  ago  this 
woman  died  and  was  buried.  Her  husband  was  about  to 
remove  from  town,  and  to  prevent  the  hogs,  "well  yoked  and 
rigned  as  the  law  directs  and  allowed  to  go  at  large,"  from 
disturbing  the  grave,  he  considerately  placed  the  heavy  stone 
across  it. 

Upon  a  rocky  knoll,  facing  the  old  court  house,  is  prob- 
ably the  oldest  public  building  of  the  English  colonies  in 
America,  the  old  county  prison,  built  in  1653-4.  On  the 
first  floor  is  a  massive  stone  dungeon.  On  the  floor  above 
are  cells  of  hewn  oak  timbers  with  windows  grated  by  double 
and  triple  rows  of  bars.  The  prisoners  received  their  food 
through  apertures  heavily  barred  and  fortified  by  sections  of 
mill  saws.  Undoubtedly  each  cell  has  contained  as  prisoners 
not  only  respectable  men  whose  only  offense  was  an  inability 
to  pay  a  small  debt,  but  with  them  hardened  criminals,  drunk- 
ards, vagabonds  and  "common  railers  and  brawlers."  Still 
this  jail  could  not  but  compare  favorably  with  the  damp, 
revolting  prisons  of  other  States,  such  as  the  underground 
cells  used  in  Connecticut.  To  those  prisoners  who  could 
give  bond  for  the  purpose  was  given  the  "Liberty  of  the 
yard,"  the  "yard"  consisting  merely  of  certain  prescribed 
limits  extending  each  way  from  the  Gaol.  One  of  the  limits 
was  the  door  of  the  meeting-house  "to  the  end  Persons 
having  the  Liberty  of  the  yard  may  attend  Public  Worship." 
It  was  not  uncommon  for  a  prisoner  to  be  "sold  for  the  term 
of  three  years  to  pay  costs  and  charges."  A  schoolmaster 
was  imprisoned  for  inability  to  "furnish  bond  to  keep  the 
peace";  and  another  of  the  same  vocation,  also  styled  "Gen- 


75 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

tleman,"  was  likewise  punished  for  "teaching  school  without 
being  qualified  according  to  law." 

For  more  than  two  hundred  years  this  old  prison  on  the  hill 
served  to  execute  sentence  upon  evil  doers.  The  story  that 
its  walls  would  tell  must,  from  their  very  existence,  be  that 
of  evil  doing,  suffering  and  perhaps  of  misguided  persecu- 
tion.* Its  adjuncts  were  the  stocks,  and  the  whipping  post ; 
and  from  it  have  gone  to  the  gallows  on  "Stage  Neck,"  at 
York  Harbor,  at  least  two  men  to  suffer  death,  while  it 
has  detained  many  others  who  were  destined  to  receive  cap- 
ital punishment.  Its  erection  marks  the  downfall  of  a  prom- 
ising Royalist  colony,  a  community  which  enjoyed  the  favor 
of  its  ill-fated  sovereign,  and  was  the  extravagant  hope  of  its 
Lord  Palatine.  For  more  than  a  generation  there  were  those 
in  Maine  who  wore  with  ill  ease  the  collar  of  Massachusetts 
Bay ;  and  may  not  these  stout  old  walls  have  been  so 
promptly  built  not  only  to  punish  lawlessness,  but  also  to 
be  a  veiled  warning  to  those  who  would  still  in  secret  drink 
the  health  of  the  son  of  King  Charles  ?  The  Gaol  has  now 
come  to  a  happier  use  under  the  care  of  the  York  Historical 
and  Improvement  Society,  which  maintains  it  as  a  museum 
of  local  antiquities.  Here  the  society  has  secured  from  the 
townspeople  a  loan  collection  of  heirlooms  and  relics  which 
does  credit  to  bygone  days  in  the  old  town. 

Two  of  the  colonial  taverns  remain  at  the  Village,  although 
both  have  long  since  ceased  to  be  public  houses  and  are  now 
spacious  summer  residences  of  descendants  of  former  owners. 
One,  the  old  Wilcox  Tavern,  was  built  by  Edward  Emerson 
on  land  leased  from  the  Parish.     Its  rear  door  opens  directly 

*For  further  account  of  the  old  Gaol  see  introductory  article  by  the 
•writer,  appearing  in  catalogue  of  Museum  at  Gaol,  1903. 

76 


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OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


among  the  graves  of  the  burying  ground,  where  close  at  hand 
lies  Norton  Woodbridge,  its  keeper  in  Revolutionary  days. 
It  passed  to  Captain  Wilcox,  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school, 
and  has  sheltered  many  men  famous  in  state  and  national 
affairs,  notably  John  Adams  and  James  Munroe.  It  is  now 
owned  by  Walter  M.  Smith,  Esq.,  of  Stamford,  Connecticut. 

The  other  tavern  has  passed  down  to  Hon.  Edward  O. 
Emerson,  of  Titusville,  Pennsylvania,  a  descendant  of  an  old 
York  family.  In  Revolutionary  days  it  was  occupied  by 
Paul  Dudley  Woodbridge,  an  ardent  loyalist,  whose  sign 
expressly  stated  that  here  was  entertainment  for  none  but 
patriots. 

The  old  Stacy  Tavern,  demolished  in  1870,  deserves  a 
word  of  remembrance.  It  was  located  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill  on  the  southerly  side  of  Meeting  House  Creek,  near  the 
bridge.  In  earliest  days,  before  the  Saywards  built  the  dam 
across  the  mouth  of  the  creek  for  their  tide  mills,  this  water 
was  navigable  for  small  craft  up  to  the  tavern.  An  old 
timber  taken  from  it,  marked  "1634,"  indicates  the  year  of 
its  erection.  The  house  was  notable  for  the  great  size  of  its 
chimney,  which  was  said  to  have  been  so  built  as  to  include 
in  its  foundation  a  considerable  part  of  the  cellar.  It  was  a 
popular  meeting  place  a  century  and  more  ago.  William 
Stacy,  who  lived  in  the  tavern,  was  on  the  Ranger  and 
landed  with  Paul  Jones  at  the  burning  of  Whitehaven. 
There  are  those  still  living  who  remember  the  old  Revolu- 
tionary pensioner,  who  so  often  told  his  boyhood  experiences 
sailing  under  the  little  Scotchman. 

Numerous  other  old  taverns,  and  quasi  public  houses,  have 
long  since  disappeared  or  wholly  changed  in  character. 

Travel  in  the  earliest  days  was  either  by  boat  along  the 

77 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND   FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

coast  to  adjacent  ports,  mostly  to  the  south,  or  by  mere 
bridle  paths  skirting  the  shore.  Of  course  there  were  high- 
ways before  1700,  but  they  could  hardly  have  been  wrought 
roads.  Those  first  mentioned  are  not  formally  laid  out,  but  are 
simply  strips  "a  pole  and  a  half  or  two  poles  wide"  reserved 
as  a  path  or  way  in  making  grants,  the  exadt  location  being 
determined  largely  by  subsequent  usage.  The  first  highway 
to  be  duly  laid  out  and  recorded  was  in  1699,  being  known 
as  the  "County  Road  Through  the  Town."  It  extended 
from  Wells  over  the  seawall  of  Long  Sands,  through  York 
Village  and  on  to  Berwick,  with  a  branch  to  "the  lower  End 
of  the  Town  .  .  .  along  a  way  as  has  Bin  formerly"  to  the 
Say  ward  mill.  One  of  the  very  earliest  ways  was  down  over 
Stage  Neck,  across  the  ferry  to  the  south  side  of  York  River, 
through  or  near  the  Allen  estate,  thence  on  to  Brave  Boat 
Harbor  to  another  ferry,  and  continuing  to  the  Piscataqua 
plantations.  William  Hilton,  before  referred  to,  a  man  of 
great  physical  size  and  strength,  was  the  ferryman  at  Stage 
Neck.  The  first  recorded  act.  of  the  new  town  in  1652  was 
that  Hilton  shall  have  the  use  of  the  ferry  for  twenty  years, 
"and  he  is  duly  to  attend  the  sd.  ferry  with  Cannoes  suffi- 
cient for  the  safe  transportation  both  of  strangers  and  Towns- 
men." The  toll  was  "two  pence  a  piece  every  stranger  & 
four  pence  apiece  for  every  beast  or  horse  which  he  swim- 
meth  over,  or  that  are  swum  over  by  any  strangers  them- 
selves." Other  ferries  were  established  farther  up  York 
River,  one  just  below  the  site  of  Sewall's  Bridge,  and 
another  near  Rice's  Bridge.  Sylvester  Stover  also  had  a 
ferry  at  Cape  Neddick  in  1652. 

Soon   after    17 10   a  line  of    post    riders  was   established 
extending   from  Portsmouth   as  far   as   Philadelphia,  and  a 

78 


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OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


little  later  into  Virginia.  Doubtless  from  this  time,  or  at 
least  after  the  close  of  Indian  hostilities  in  17 13,  York  was  in 
regular  weekly  communication  with  towns  to  the  south.  In 
those  early  days  of  the  post  the  weekly  mail  would  probably 
consist  of  little  more  than  a  dozen  letters,  a  package  or  two, 
and  a  few  copies  of  the  News-L,etter  (1704),  or  the  Boston 
Gazette  (17 19),  or  the  New  Hampshire  Gazette  (1756). 
Probably  more  travel  and  news  matter  passed  by  water  than 
overland.  But  by  Revolutionary  times  a  regular  system  of 
post  riders  passed  through,  and  as  far  north  as  Falmouth, 
now  Portland.  The  writer  has  no  definite  information  as  to 
when  the  first  line  of  coaches,  or  stages,  made  regular  trips 
through  the  town.     Not  unlikely  it  was  as  early  as  1770. 

A  century  and  more  ago  the  population  of  York  was  some- 
what larger  than  is  its  strictly  resident  population  today  ;  but 
its  property  valuation  was  probably  not  one-tenth  as  much. 
The  West  India  trade  was  considerable,  as  was  the  coastwise 
shipping.  Also  fishermen  sailed  both  to  the  Grand  Banks 
and  to  "Georges"  as  late  as  1850.  It  was  not  uncommon  for 
schooners  and  some  larger  craft  to  be  built  along  the  shores 
of  York  River.  One  shipyard  was  well  up  river  in  the 
vicinity  of  Scotland,*  and  another  near  Marshall's  wharf, 
below  Sewall's  Bridge.  The  latter  yard  and  adjoining  wharf 
property  were  in  very  early  times  an  active  place  of  business. 
Donnell's  ferry  was  at  this  point,  and  later  Capt.  Joseph 
Tucker,  in  Revolutionary  times  and  for  some  years  later, 
carried  on  business  here  and  built  several  vessels.  Capt. 
Tucker  was  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  town  affairs 
and  a  representative  to  the  General  Court  at  Boston.     His 

*A  schooner  was  built  inland  near  "Beech  Ridge"  and  hauled  to  the 
launching  place  by  oxen. 

79 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

dwelling  house,  located  at  the  head  of  his  wharf,  was 
removed  about  1870,  and  much  of  its  timber  entered  into  the 
original  structure  embraced  in  the  present  Yorkshire  Inn  at 
the  Harbor.  Other  points  of  commercial  activity  were 
Captain  Samuel  Sewall's  wharf,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
near  the  bridge  which  bears  his  name ;  also  the  Sayward 
wharves  of  very  early  times,  later  owned  by  the  Barrells, 
located  just  south  of  the  present  railroad  bridge.  Below 
these  were  those  of  the  Harmons,  the  Varrells  and  the  early 
Donnells.  From  Cape  Neddick  River  the  old-fashioned 
sloops  and  smaller  schooners  carried  on  a  general  coastwise 
traffic,  especially  the  shipping  of  wood  and  lumber. 

The  schooners  of  a  century  ago,  and  less,  did  not  average 
near  one  hundred  tons  burden,  while  the  ships  did  not,  as  a 
rule,  exceed  three  hundred  tons.  We  say  that  they  and  their 
cargoes  were  small  and  insignificant.  True  it  is ;  but  those 
were  the  days  of  small  things  commercially,  measured  by  the 
vast  industries  of  today.  Yet  then  the  great  commercial 
activity  of  New  England  seaports  consisted  largely  in  the 
traffic  of  just  such  craft  as  sailed  in  and  out  of  the  port  of 
York,  a  town  of  far  greater  relative  population  than  now. 
Had  it  kept  relative  pace  numerically  with  Boston  since  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  it  would  now  be  a  city  of  nearly 
ninety  thousand  inhabitants.  Of  course  no  clipper  ships 
sailed  out  of  this  little  river  with  its  swift  current  and  devious 
channel,  but  from  the  town  have  hailed  some  of  their  finest 
captains. 

It  must  have  been  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  that 
the  future  of  York  seemed  least  inviting.  The  steam  railroad 
had  been  built  inland,  avoiding  the  town  and  diverting  the 
travel  which  had  hitherto  passed  through  by  stage  coach,  and 

80 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


which  made  "Marm  Freeman's"  at  Cape  Neddick  one  of  the 
famous  taverns  on  the  post  road  between  Boston  and  Port- 
land. It  had  also  ceased  to  be  the  shire  town,  the  courts 
were  removed,  and  moreover,  the  shipping  had  dwindled  to 
the  few  coasters  and  fishermen. 

The  town's  new  industry  began  in  the  early  seventies, 
when  the  first  summer  hotels  and  cottages  were  built ;  and 
travelers,  leaving  the  cars  at  Portsmouth,  arrived  in  town 
dusty  and  weary  from  the  ten  miles'  jaunt  in  a  rocking  stage- 
coach. But  the  air  was  invigorating,  its  wooded  drives  and 
quiet  elm-shaded  highways  were  attractive,  and  its  firm, 
smooth  beaches  were  unsurpassed.  The  steam  railroad  came 
in  1887  and  supplanted  the  stage  coach  ;  hotels  and  board- 
ing-houses multiplied  and  improved,  and  substantial  cottages 
of  summer  residents  more  thickly  dotted  its  rocky  shores. 
The  growth  of  the  town  as  a  summer  resort,  to  which  all 
energies  are  now  more  or  less  directly  turned,  has  been  espe- 
cially rapid  during  the  last  six  or  eight  years.  Within  its 
limits  have  been  developed  four  quite  distinct  summer  vil- 
lages, York  Harbor,  York  Beach  and  York  Cliffs,  beyond 
Cape  Neddick  River.  Also  along  the  sea  wall  betwixt 
"L,ong  Sands"  and  "Bear  Berry  Marsh"  of  olden  days, 
facing  a  splendid  beach  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  is  the 
fourth  community,  known  as  Long  Beach.  Even  York  Vil- 
lage, from  earliest  days  the  town's  center  in  public  affairs,  is 
now  being  invaded  by  summer  residents,  not  including  those 
who  come  back  to  open  ancestral  halls.  Thus  "these  parts," 
with  a  resident  population  of  a  trifle  less  than  three  thousand, 
annually,  between  the  months  of  June  and  September, 
expand  into  a  community  of  nearly  ten  thousand  souls,  who, 
to  quote  a  Puritan  soldier  stationed  in  York  two  centuries 

81 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND   FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

ago,  possess  and  are  bent  on  "an  abundance  of  levity,"  even 
though  many  come  from  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Unlike  many  old  New  England  towns  York  is  not  now 
decadent.  Probably  the  man  does  not  live  who  will  see  the 
town  become  of  importance  in  commerce  or  in  manufacturing 
industries.  Its  development  is  set  along  other  lines  which 
largely  preclude  the  activities  of  commercial  life.  Its  pros- 
perity lies  in  its  cool,  bracing  air,  its  pure  brooks  and  ponds, 
the  winding  tidal  river,  rugged  shore  line  and  firm  beaches, 
in  its  green  fields  and  groves  of  hickory,  oak  and  pine. 
Nature  has  been  lavish  to  this  old  town ;  and  its  association 
with  the  beginnings  of  New  England  add  a  certain  character 
and  charm  to  its  quiet  nooks  and  corners.  Thus  naturally  it 
has  come  to  be  the  summer  home  of  hundreds  who  here  seek 
health,  recreation  or  rest. 

York  is  a  better  town  today  than  ever  before,  and  its  abid- 
ing prosperity  and  a  surpassing  future  can  best  be  assured  by 
the  well-directed  energy  of  even  a  score  of  its  citizens,  mind- 
ful to  preserve  its  natural  beauties  and  zealous  for  every  well 
directed  civic  movement. 

To  use  words  from  a  prediction  by  its  old  L,ord  Palatine, 
may  it  speedily  become,  even  as  never  before,  a  "Fair  Towne 
...  a  very  flourishing  place." 


82 


Hon.  Edward  C.  Moody, 

York, 

Petitioner  to  Town  Meeting  for  Observance  of  250th 

Anniversary. 


OF  THE  TOWN  OF  YORK,  MAINE. 


1652  1902 

program 

of  the  Celebration  of  the 

Zxoo  Ibunfcrefc  anfc  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
tbe  Gown  of  Uorfc,  flDatne, 

August  5,  1902. 


OFFICERS. 


The  Committee  of  the  Town  of  York  appointed  at  the  Town  Meet- 
ing, March,  1902: 

Mr.  J.  Perley  Putnam,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Junkins, 

Mr.  Joseph  P.  Bragdon,  Mr.  Harry  H.  Norton, 

Mr.  William  T.  Keene,  Mr.  George  F.  Plaisted, 

Mr.  Malcolm  Mclntire,  Mr.  J.  Howard  Preble, 

Mr.  Henry  Plaisted,  Mr.  George  E.  Marshall, 

Mr.  Samuel  T.  Blaisdell,  Mr.  Joseph  W.  Simpson, 

Mr.  William  O.  Barrell,  Mr.  Daniel  Weare, 

Mr.  Josiah  N.  Norton,  Mr.  John  F.  Plaisted. 

The  Joint  Committee  of  the  Town  and  the  Old  York  Historical  and 
Improvement  Society : 

Mr.  J.  Perley  Putnam,  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith, 

Mr.  George  F.  Plaisted,  Hon.  E.  O.  Emerson, 

Mr.  William  T.  Keene,  Rev.  Frank  Sewall,  D.  D. 

83 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

General  Secretary,  Mr.  George  F.  Plaisted, 

Treasurer,  Mr.  Wilson  M.  Walker, 

President  of  the  Day,  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith, 

Marshal  of  the  Parade,  Mr.  J.  Perley  Putnam. 

Committee  on  the  Program  and  Invitations — Rev.  Frank  Sewall, 
D.  D.,  Hon.  Edward  O.  Emerson,  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith. 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEES. 

ON  HISTORIC  PARADE. 
Frank  D.  Marshall,  LL-  B.,  Mrs.  James  T.  Davidson,  Mrs.  F. 
Doubleday,  Mrs.  Hungerford,  Miss  Mary  Louise  Smith,  Miss  Theo- 
dosia  Barrell,  Miss  Katherine  E.  Marshall,  Miss  Ruth  Putnam,  Miss 
Florence  Paul,  Miss  Elizabeth  Perkins,  Mrs.  George  L.  Cheney,  Miss 
Rachel  K.  Sewall,  Miss  Constance  Emerson,  Miss  Elizabeth  T. 
Sewall,  Miss  Ellen  M.  Dennett. 

ON   MUSIC. 

Mr.  George  F.  Plaisted. 

ON  THE  WATER  CARNIVAI,. 
Messrs.    Freeman    Sewall,   Eugene    Sewall,   Burleigh    Davidson, 
Russell  Cheney. 

ON   FIREWORKS. 

Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith. 

ON  ENTERTAINMENT. 
Mr.  W.  T.  Keene,  Mr.  N.  H.  Shattuck, 

Mr.  Joseph  P.  Bragdon,  Mr.  Samuel  A.  Preble, 

Hon.  John  C.  Stewart,  Hon.  E.  O.  Emerson, 

Mr.  W.  M.  Walker,  Mr.  Frank  D.  Marshall. 

PRESS  COMMITTEE. 
Mr.  George  F.  Plaisted,  Mr.  Edwin  D.  Twombly, 

/  Mr.  William  J.  Neal. 

84 


Mr.  J.  Pkrley  Putnam, 

York, 

Chairman  of  Board  of  .Selectmen. 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF  YORK,    MAINE. 


ON  SUNDAY  EVENING,  AUGUST  3rd, 

A   UNION    REUGIOUS    SERVICE   OF    THANKFUL 
COMMEMORATION 

will  be  held  in  the 

Meeting  House  of  the  "First  Church  of  Christ" 

in  York  Village,  Organized  1662, 

with  the  Music  of  the  OLDEN  TIME, 

and  Addresses  by  the  REV.  ELIHU  SNOW,  on  the 

EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS, 

and  by  the  REV.  SIDNEY  K.  PERKINS,  on 

The  Churches  and  Ministers  of  the  Town  of  York. 

The  Rev.  D.  C.  Abbott  will  describe  the  beginning  of  the  "Meth- 
odist," and  the  Rev.  John  A.  Goss  that  of  the  "Christian"  Church 
movements. 

Organist  and  Music  Director,  Miss  Katherine  E.  Marshall. 

TUESDAY,  August  sth. 

At  sunrise  and  sunset  a  Salute  will  be  fired  from  the  Palo  Alto  Gun 
on  Paul  Hill  under  direction  of  the  Hon.  Edward  C.  Moody,  and  the 
Church  Bells  will  be  rung. 

THE  PARADE. 

Mr.  J.  Perley  Putnam,  Marshal. 

Aids. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Simpson,  Mr.  Frank  H.  Ellis, 

Mr.  W.  T.  Keene,  Mr.  Jos.  P.  Bragdon, 

Mr.  A.  M.  Bragdon,  Mr.  Fred  G.  Winn. 

The  Parade  will  form  at  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  at  York  Beach,  and  at 
10  A.  M.  will  move  by  Long  Beach  and  York  Harbor  to  York  Village 
and  York  Corner,  returning  to  York  Village  for  Commemoration 
Exercises. 

85 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

ORDER  OF  PARADE). 

Marshal  and  Aids. 
Mounted  Escort. 
The  Marine  Band  of  the  Navy  Yard  at  Kittery,  Me. 
Detachment  of  United   States   Marines,   Captain   Russell,  com- 
manding. 
Historical  Parade  Illustrating 
Incidents  and  Characters  in  the  History  of  York. 
Kearsarge  Fife  and  Drum  Corps. 
Floral  Parade. 
The   Public   Schools. 

TABLEAUX  ON  FLOATS. 

I. 

1614. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH, 

Unfolding   his  "Great   Map  of   New    England"   before   Prince 

Charles,   who    names    this    locality    Boston,    and    Mt.   Agamenticus 

"Snadoun  Hill." 

II. 

1631-2. 
COL.  WALTER  NORTON, 

and  Colonists  from  Bristol,  England,  sent  by  Gorges  to  take 
possession   "by  which   the   foundation   of    the   plantation   was 

laid." 

III. 
1642. 
THOMAS  GORGES,  Mayor  of  Gorgeana, 

Roger  Garde,   Recorder;   "Sergants  of  Ye  White   Rod,"   and 

Aldermen. 

IV. 

I652. 
MASSACHUSETTS  BAY  COLONY 

assumes  control.  Right  Worshipful  Sir  Richard  Bellingham 
and  Sheriff  Norton.  Edward  Godfrey  refuses  to  submit, 
resolving  to  exercise  jurisdiction  "until  it  shall  please  Parlia- 
ment otherwise  to  order." 

86 


Hox.  Edward  O.  Emerson, 

Titusville,  Pa., 

Executive  Committee. 


OF    THE   TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


V. 
1 692. 
SACK  AND  MASSACRE 

by  French  and  Indians.  Killing  of  Rev.  Shubael  Dummer,  first 
pastor  of  the  Parish,  at  his  house  near  Roaring  Rock. 

VI. 
CHRISTIAN  SACHEM  St.  Aspinquid  of  Mt.  Agamenticus. 

VII. 

1745-47- 
SIR  WILLIAM  PEPPERRELL 

presenting  Col.  Jeremiah  Moulton  with  silver  tankard,  a  gift 
from  King  George  II.  for  valiant  conduct  at  Louisburg. 

VIII. 
1761. 
MAJOR  SAMUEL  SEWALL 

builds  "The  Great  Bridge"  over  York  River;  first  pile  draw- 
bridge in  America. 

IX. 

1774. 
DANIEL  MOULTON, 

Town  Clerk,  in  Town  Meeting  reading  "paragraph  by  para- 
graph," the  resolutions  asserting  of  "Right  to  Freedom,"  pro- 
testing against  taxation  without  representation,  and  pledging 
support  "especially  to  .  .  .  brethren  of  the  Town  of  Boston." 

X. 

1775- 
VOLUNTEERS 

("Men  of    the  Alarm   List")   under  Capt.  Johnson   Moulton, 

responding  to  the  call  from  Lexington,  April   21st,    1775 — first 

troops  to  leave  Maine  in  the  struggle  for  independence. 

XL 

1816. 
PRESIDENT  MONROE 

received  by  Judge  David  Sewall,  escorted  by  officers  of  First 

Regiment  of  Maine  Militia. 

87 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


XII. 
CHARACTERS. 

The  Tithing  Men. 

Pirate  Trickey  weaving  his  rope  of  sand. 

Palo  Alto  Cannon  and  veteran  of  Mexican  War. 

Our  Visitors  from  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


COMMEMORATIVE    EXERCISES, 

On  the  Green,  in  the  Rear  of  the  Town  Hall. 
TUESDAY,   AUGUST  5th,  2   O'CLOCK   P.  M. 

MUSIC,   THE   MARINE   BAND, 

R.  L.  Reinewald,  Bandmaster. 

1.  Grand  March,  "Tannhauser,"  Wagner 

2.  Overture,  "Fest,"  Leutner 

3.  International  Fantasia,  on  Patriotic  "Airs  of  Two 

Continents,"  arr.  by  Rollinson 

The  Hon.  Edward  C.  Moody  will  introduce  the 
President  of  the  Day,  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith 

INVOCATION— The  Rev.  David  B.  Sewall,  former  Pastor 
of  the  First  Parish  Church. 

READING   OF   PSALM   CXV.— The   Rev.  D.  C.  Abbott 
of  the  Methodist  Church. 

COMMEMORATIVE  HYMN,  Isaac  Watts 

Tune— ("St.  Martin's.") 
Let  children  hear  the  mighty  deeds 

Which  God  performed  of  old, 
Which  in  our  younger  years  we  saw, 
And  which  our  fathers  told. 

He  bids  us  make  His  glories  known, 

His  words  of  power  and  grace ; 
And  we'll  convey  His  wonders  down 

Through  every  rising  race. 

88 


Mr.  George  F.  Pi.aisted, 
York, 

Secretary  of  Executive  Committee. 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Our  lips  shall  tell  them  to  our  sons, 

And  they  again  to  theirs, 
That  generations  yet  unborn 

May  teach  them  to  their  heirs. 

Thus  shall  they  learn,  in  God  alone 

Their  hope  securely  stands, 
That  they  may  ne'er  forget  His  words 

But  practice  His  commands. 

CITIZENS'  WELCOME,  by  the  Hon.  John  C.  Stewart. 

INTRODUCTORY  ADDRESS,  by  the  President  of  the  Day. 

ORATION,  by  the  Hon.  James  Phinney  Baxter,  President  of  the 
Maine  Historical  Society  and  of  the  New  England  Genealogical 
and  Historical  Society. 

SINGING,  led  by  the  Band,  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner." 

Short  addresses  by  distinguished  guests,  among  whom  will  be 
Thomas  Nelson  Page,  Litt.  D.,  Samuel  L.  Clemens  ["Mark  Twain"], 
Litt.  D.,  President  Tucker  of  Dartmouth  College,  Francis  L.  Stetson, 
Esq.,  of  New  York,  the  Honorable  Thomas  B.  Reed  of  New  York  and 
Major  General  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  Ex-Governor  of  Maine. 

SINGING.—'  'America. ' ' 

BENEDICTION.— The  Rev.  Sidney  K.  Perkins. 

OPEN  AIR  CONCERT  BY  THE  MARINE  BAND, 
On  the  Village  Green,  from  6.30  to  7.30  P.  M. 

ILLUMINATED  BOAT  PARADE, 
On  Lake  Gorges  from  8  to  9  o'clock. 

FIREWORKS. 

Promptly  at  9  o'clock  will  begin  an  Aerial  Display  of  Fireworks 
from  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Gorges,  under  the  management  of  the 
celebrated  Pain  Co. 

89 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

The  Maine  Historical  Society,  at  the  invitation  of  the  Committee, 
have  made  this  celebration  their  Field  Day  for  the  present  year. 
They  will  attend  a  reception  given  them  by  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Frank 
Sewall,  at  Coventry  Hall,  the  old  "Judge  Sewall  Mansion,"  between 
five  and  six  o'clock. 

The  OLD  JAIL,  erected  in  1653  and  still  preserving  its  dungeons, 
court-room  and  sheriff's  residence,  now  devoted  to  a  Colonial  Museum 
of  valuable  local  relics,  household  utensils,  books,  manuscripts,  com- 
missions, coats-of-arms,  etc.,  will  be  open  to  visitors  from  8  A.  M.  to 
6  P.  M.     Admission,  15  cents.     Catalogues  and  Views  for  sale. 


RECEPTION  ROOM. 

The  upper  hall  in  the  Town  House  will  be  set  apart  as  a  reception 
room,  for  the  convenience,  during  the  day,  of  guests  from  abroad. 


90 


Rev.   Frank  Sewall,  D.  D., 

Washington,  D.  C, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Program  and  Invitations. 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


Carb  of  Invitation. 

1652-1902 

The  Joint  Committee  of  the 

TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE, 

and  the  Old  York  Historical  and  Improvement  Society 
have  the  honour  to  invite 

to  be  present  at  the  Celebration  of  the 

TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

of  the 

Incorporation  of  the  Town 

To  be  held 

On  the  Meeting-House  Green  of  York  Village,  on 

Tuesday,  August  Fifth,  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Two  at 

Two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

J.  Peri<Ey  Putnam,  Chairman. 

Frank  Sewali,, 
Edward  O.  Emerson, 
Walter  M.  Smith, 

Committee  on  Invitations . 


9i 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


(Buests  present. 

Acceptances  were  received  from  the  following  invited 
guests,  who  were  seated  on  the  platform  with  the  officers  of 
the  day  during  the  exercises  of  Aug.  5th  on  the  Village 
Green :  The  President,  Secretary  and  Visiting  Members  of 
the  Maine  Historical  Society ;  Mr.  Justice  McKenna  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States ;  Gen.  Joshua  L.  Cham- 
berlain, Ex-Gov.  of  Maine;  Woodbury  Langdon,  Esq., 
New  York;  Francis  Lynde  Stetson,  Esq.,  New  York;  Dr. 
J.  B.  Ayer,  Boston ;  Hon.  Edward  S.  Marshall,  York ;  John 
J.  I^oud,  Esq.,  Weymouth,  Mass.;  J.  Windsor  Brathwaite, 
Esq.,  Kennebunkport ;  A.  G.  Cumnock,  Esq.,  Lowell,  Mass.; 
Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed,  New  York;  William  Dean  Howells, 
Litt.  D.,  New  York;  Thomas  Nelson  Page,  Litt.  D.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C;  Samuel  L.  Clemens,  Litt.  D.,  New  York ;  Pres- 
ident Tucker,  Dartmouth  College ;  Ex-Gov.  F.  W.  Rollins, 
New  Hampshire;  Charles  Eustis  Hubbard,  Esq.,  Boston; 
Hon.  Augustus  F.  Moulton,  Portland. 

Letters  of  appreciation  and  regret  were  received  from  the 
following  :  The  President  of  the  United  States ;  His  Excel- 
lency the  Governor  of  Maine ;  His  Excellency  the  Governor 
of  Massachusetts ;  the  Honorable  William  P.  Frye,  U.  S. 
Senator;  the  Honorable  Eugene  Hale,  U.  S.  Senator;  Presi- 
dent Eliot  of  Harvard  University ;  President  Hyde  of  Bowdoin 
College;  Hon.  W.  H.  Moody,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  Hon. 

92 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


James  O.  Bradbury  of  Saco  ;  Capt.  John  Dennett  of  the  U.S. 
Revenue  Service;  Charles  Ray  Palmer,  I,!,.  D.,  New  Haven, 
Conn.;  Charles  F.  Adams,  Esq.,  Boston;  John  Fogg,  Esq., 
New  York;  William  Bruce  King,  Esq.,  Washington,  D.  C; 
James  D.  Smith,  Esq.,  New  York;  Ex-Governor  Henry  B. 
Cleaves  of  Portland;  Maj.  Gen.  Augustus  B.  Farnham, 
Adjutant  General  of  Maine. 


93 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


persons  wbo  Gook  part  in  tbe  UMstortc 
tableaux,  august  5,  1902. 

Historic  Float  I. — Capt.  John  Smith  unfolding  the  "Great 
Map  of  New  England"  before  Prince  Charles.  Capt.  Smith, 
Dr.  E.  C.  Cook;  Prince  Charles,  Clarence  Grant;  Pages, 
I,ewis  Raynes  and  Marshall  Putnam. 

Float  II. — Col.  Walter  Norton  and  Colonists  from  England 
taking  possession  in  behalf  of  Gorges.  Col.  Norton,  Everett 
Goodwin ;  Colonists,  Percy  Boyd,  Elmer  Patch,  Aug.  Han- 
son, Arthur  Baker,  Miss  L,ucy  Johnson  and  Miss  Mary 
Hanson. 

Float  III. — Thomas  Gorges,  mayor  of  Gorgeana,  Roger 
Garde,  Recorder,  and  "Sergants  of  Ye  White  Rod"  and 
Aldermen.  Sir  Thomas,  John  Regan  ;  Roger  Garde,  Walter 
Hammil ;  Sergeants,  Joseph  and  Elroy  Moulton  ;  Aldermen, 
John  Dowd  and  Elwin  Webster. 

Float  IV. — Massachusetts  Bay  Colony's  assumption  of 
authority.  Right  Worshipful  Sir  Richard  Bellingham  and 
Sheriff  Norton.  Edward  Godfrey  refuses  to  submit.  Sir 
Richard,  Roy  Titcomb;  Sheriff  Norton,  B.  S.  Woodward; 
Godfrey,  William  Staples. 

Float  V. — Sack  and  Massacre  by  French  and  Indians. 
Killing  of  Rev.  Shubael  Dummer.  Dummer,  Arthur  Brag- 
don  ;  French  and  Indians,  Harvey  Goodwin,  Dallas  Bickford, 
Edw.  Woodward  and  Raymond  Brewster. 

Float  VI.— Christian  Sachem  St.  Aspinquid,  Howard 
Goodwin. 

94 


Mr.  William  T.   Keene, 

York , 

Executive  Committee. 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


Float  VII. — Sir  William  Pepperrell  presenting  Col.  Jere- 
miah Moulton  with  silver  tankard,  a  gift  from  King  George 
II.,  for  valiant  conduct  at  Louisburg.  Sir  William,  Samuel 
Thompson  ;  Col.  Jeremiah  Moulton,  Edward  Thompson. 

Float  VIII. — Building  of  Sewall's  Bridge  by  Major 
Samuel  Sewall.  Major  Sewall,  Geo.  Main ;  assistants,  Jef- 
ferson Main,  Benjamin  Kimball,  Ed.  Kimball  and  Josiah 
Murphy. 

Float  IX. — Town  Clerk  Daniel  Moulton  reading  the  first 
declaration  of  independence,  "paragraph  by  paragraph." 
Daniel  Moulton,  Willis  G.  Moulton. 

No.  X. — Minute  Men.  George  Gray,  captain ;  Chas. 
Blake,  ist  lieutenant ;  forty  men  from  York  Volunteer  Fire 
Company. 

Float  XI. — President  Monroe,  received  by  Judge  David 
Sewall.  President  Monroe,  John  Young;  Judge  Sewall, 
William  Card. 

Float  XII. — Pirate  Trickey,  binding  sand  with  a  rope, 
Gardner  Donnell.  Palo  Alto  Cannon,  1847  and  1865.  Our 
Visitors  from  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

The  excellence  of  the  historical  parade  was  due  to  the  inde- 
fatigable efforts  of  the  special  committee  on  Historic  Parade, 
Frank  D.  Marshall,  Esq.,  Mrs.  James  T.  Davidson,  Mrs. 
F.  Doubleday,  Mrs.  Hungerford,  Miss  Mary  Louise  Smith, 
Miss  Theodosia  Barrell,  Miss  Katharine  E.  Marshall,  Miss 
Ruth  Putnam,  Miss  Florence  Paul,  Miss  Rachel  Kenyon 
Sewall,  Miss  Elizabeth  Trufant  Sewall,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Perkins,  Mrs.  George  L.  Cheney  and  Miss  Ellen  M.  Dennett. 

The  ladies  of  the  Committee  rode  in  the  stage-coach  from 
York  Beach  to  the  Village  Green  wearing  costumes  suitable 
to  "Our  Visitors  from  Auld  Lang  Syne." 

95 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


Commemorative  Exercises  on  tbe  IDillaae 

(Breen. 

The  Hon.  Edward  C.  Moody  addressed  the  assemblage  as 
follows : 

''''Ladies  and  Gentlemen ,  Fellow  Citizens  : 

"In  the  warrant  calling  the  annual  town  meeting  of  York 
held  March  13th  this  present  year,  an  article  appeared  on  the 
petition  of  six  men — Wilson  M.  Walker,  Albert  M.  Bragdon, 
A.  H.  Bowden,  W.  T.  Keene,  E.  F.  Hobson  and  one  other 
— To  see  if  the  town  would  vote  to  commemorate  its  250th 
anniversary.  It  so  voted.  The  York  Historical  Society 
joined  hands  with  the  town.  The  booming  of  cannon,  the 
ringing  of  bells,  the  strains  of  martial  music,  the  elaborate 
decorations,  the  passing  of  the  splendid  parade  through  our 
streets,  all  speak  thus  far  in  memory  of  the  olden  days. 
And  now  we  shall  be  told  of  those  who  founded  and  fostered 
this  ancient  borough. 

"  'What  was  his  name  ?    I  do  not  know  his  name. 
I  only  know  he  heard  God's  voice,  and  came : 
Brought  all  he  loved  across  the  sea, 
To  live  and  work  for  God — and  me ; 
Felled  the  ungracious  oak ; 
With  rugged  toil 
Dragged  from  the  soil 
The  thrice  gnarled  roots  and  stubborn  rock ; 
With  plenty  filled  the  haggard  mountain  side ; 
And  when  his  work  was  done,  without  memorial  died. 

96 


Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith, 

Stamford,  Conn., 

President  of  the  Day. 


OP   THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


No  blaring  trumpet  sounded  out  his  fame : 

He  lived,  he  died — I  do  not  know  his  name. 

No  form  of  bronze  and  no  memorial  stones 

Show  me  the  place  where  lie  his  mouldering  bones : 

Only  a  cheerful  village  stands, 

Built  by  his  hardened  hands ; 

Only  one  thousand  homes, 
Where  every  day 
The  cheerful  play 
Of  love  and  hope  and  courage  comes  ; 
These  are  his  monuments,  and  these  alone — 
There  is  no  form  of  bronze;  and  no  memorial  stone.' 

"My  friends,  I  am  not  here  to  weary  you.  It  is  a  public 
honor,  my  personal  pleasure,  to  present  to  you  the  President 
of  the  York  Historical  Society  as  the  President  of  the  day, 
Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith." 

Mr.  Smith's  Remarks. 
Mr.  Moody,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  ; 

For  the  distinguished  honor  of  presiding  over  this  assem- 
bly I  am  indebted,  sir,  to  your  committee.  I  thank  you  for 
your  kindly  introduction.  In  making  my  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment of  your  courtesy,  I  desire  to  voice  the  sentiment  of 
your  committee,  and  of  your  fellow  townsmen,  in  according 
to  you,  sir,  the  inception  of  the  movement  which  has  culmi- 
nated in  this  tribute  to  Old  York. 

Shall  we  not,  with  grateful  hearts,  reverently  bow  our 
heads  while  Rev.  David  B.  Sewall  asks  God's  blessing  upon 
this  gathering. 

Then  followed  the  invocation  by  the  Rev.  David  B. 
Sewall,  former  pastor  of  the  First  Parish  Church. 

This  was  followed  by  the  reading  of  Psalm  CXV  by  the 

97 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Rev.  S.  C.  Abbott,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  the  sing- 
ing of  the  Commemorative  Hymn  by  Isaac  Watts,  "L,et 
Children  Hear  the  Mighty  Deeds." 

The   following  letter  from   the   President  of  the   United 

States  was  then  read: 

White  House,  Washington,  July  23,  1902. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Your  favor  of  the  19th  instant  has  been  received,  and  the  President 
has  requested  me  to  assure  you  that  he  warmly  appreciates  the 
cordial  invitation  which  you  extend  to  him. 

It  would  afford  the  President  genuine  pleasure  to  be  present  at  the 
celebration  to  which  you  refer,  and  he  regrets  that  plans  already  made 
will  preclude  him  from  sending  an  acceptance. 

Thanking   you  in  the  President's  behalf  for   your   thoughtfulness 

and  courtesy,  believe  me, 

Very  truly  yours, 

Geo.  B.  Cortelyou, 

Secretary  to  the  President. 
Mr.  Frank  Sewall, 
Chairman,  etc., 

York  Village,  Maine. 

After  the  Commemorative  Hymn  followed  remarks  of  the 
President  introducing  Hon.  John  C.  Stewart: 

11  Sons  and  Daughters  of  York,  Honored  Guests  : 

"Those  of  you  who  went  forth  in  the  morning  and  have 
returned  in  the  evening  of  your  days  to  pay  this  mark  of 
respect  to  the  Old  Home,  I  greet  you  and  bid  you  welcome. 
"For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  York  has  been  the  syno- 
nym of  unstinted  hospitality.  It  is  my  privilege  to  present 
to  you  one  of  her  most  respected  citizens,  who  will  extend  to 
you  her  old-time  cordial  welcome. 

"I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you  Hon.  John  C. 
Stewart." 

98 


Hon.  John  C.  Stkwart, 
York. 


OP  THE   TOWN   OF  YORK,    MAINE. 


Citizens'  Welcome,  by  Hon.  John  C.  Stewart. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

To  extend  to  you  the  welcome  of  the  citizens  of  York  is 
especially  pleasing  because  of  the  presence  of  so  many  of 
our  non-citizen  residents,  whom  we,  as  a  body  of  citizens,  for 
the  first  time  meet  in  a  common  assemblage.  For  many 
years  you  have  been  coming  and  going,  seeing  and  meeting 
us  as  we  have  seen  and  met  you  without  becoming  really 
acquainted  with  each  other.  You  will,  I  know,  pardon  me 
if  I  take  some  of  my  time  in  telling  you  who  we  are  and 
what  we  think  of  you. 

Consulting  your  maps  you  will  find  midway  between 
Altruria  on  the  south  and  Carnegia  on  the  north  a  small 
country  bearing  a  strange  and  almost  unpronounceable  name, 
the  ancient  appellation  of  the  territory  which  we  recognize  as 
"Old  York."  Formerly  it  was  inhabited  by  a  race  of  people 
honest,  hardy,  peaceable,  home-loving.  Jealous  of  their  own 
rights  they  were  careful  not  to  infringe  those  of  their  neigh- 
bors. Some  cultivated  the  soil,  while  others  roamed  the 
sea.  Their  flocks  and  herds  delighted  some,  while  others 
boasted  of  their  rule  over  the  ocean  and  idolized  their  trim 
and  stately  vessels.  "Mild-eyed"  oxen  were  their  beasts  of 
burden  and  furnished  their  motive  power.  They  had  little 
money  and  very  little  use  for  what  they  had.  Their  necessi- 
ties were  few  and  were  readily  supplied  by  their  farms  and 
the  sea.  Their  lands  descended  from  father  to  son  and  were 
very  rarely  alienated.  Did  ambition  seize  one  of  our  sons 
and  drag  him  from  his  ancestral  home  he  was  mourned  as 
are  all  prodigals,  and,  if  he  returned,  was  received  with  the 
welcome  of  his  class.     Sometimes  we  heard  of  his  success  in 

99 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

the   great  world   beyond,  but  still  we  mourned  his  absence 
and  only  mentioned  him  as  a  warning  to  others. 

One  summer,  many,  many  years  ago,  an  adventurer  from 
your  world  came  among  us.  We  received  him  kindly,  never 
dreaming  of  the  result.  The  next  year  he  returned  and 
brought  one  or  two  of  you  with  him.  You  were  so  well 
pleased  that  you  brought  some  of  your  friends  the  next  year. 
They,  in  turn,  had  friends  who  desired  to  see  our  pleasant 
country.  They  came  and  we  began  to  realize  that  the  "ruth- 
less invader"  had  taken  possession  of  our  territory.  You 
roamed  our  pastures  at  will  without  asking  our  consent  and 
sometimes  forgot  to  put  up  the  bars,  or  close  the  gate  after 
you  passed  through.  Occasionally  a  stone  wall  fell  as  you 
climbed  it  and  you  did  not  know  how  to  rebuild  it.  Our 
cattle  and  sheep  seemed  to  catch  your  restless  spirit  and 
began  to  wander  from  their  confines.  We  preferred  our 
mutton  and  beef  on  the  hoof  but  were  compelled  to  put  it  on 
the  table.  Then  you  wanted  to  build  summer  homes  for 
yourselves.  You  wanted  to  purchase  our  ancestral  acres. 
You  tempted  us  with  money.  The  first  Charles  had  granted 
the  original  patent  to  our  ancestor  and  we  cherished  that  doc- 
ument almost  as  much  as  we  did  our  land.  Part  with  our 
heritage  ?  Never  !  We  locked  our  doors  and  pulled  down 
our  curtains  that  we  might  not  even  see  you  pass  !  Still  you 
persisted.  You  wearied  us  by  your  constant  importunings 
and  in  a  moment  of  weakness  we  yielded.  We  took  your 
money  ;  you  got  our  land  !  When  we  realized  what  we  had 
done  remorse  seized  us.  Our  ancestors  had  toiled  for  ages  to 
make  these  acres  what  they  were  and  we  had  sold  them  for 
your  money  !  Apparently  you  felt  no  remorse  or  regrets. 
You   built   tasty   and,    to   our   minds,  luxurious  residences. 


OP  THE   TOWN    OP   YORK,    MAINE. 


Then  you  wanted  more  land  !  We  declined  to  sell  it.  You 
added  more  money  to  the  already  tempting  pile.  We  took 
it !  You  built  other  houses.  Then  you  demanded  roads. 
We  refused  to  build  them.  You  appealed  to  the  courts  and 
forced  us  to  yield.  The  old  stage  coach  running  to  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H.,  three  times  a  week  began  to  make  daily  trips. 
Its  advent  no  longer  called  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village 
together.  Still  you  were  not  satisfied.  You  must  have  a 
railroad.  That  brought  more  of  you  and  you  demanded  the 
trolley.  Here  we  drew  the  line.  No  devilish  "broom-stick 
train"  should  destroy  our  quiet  abode.     It  is  here. 

And  today,  for  the  citizens  of  York,  I  extend  to  you  our 
most  cordial  and  hearty  welcome.  You  have  improved  our 
homes,  built  our  schoolhouses,  repaired  our  churches,  given 
us  roads  equal  to  any  in  the  country  towns  of  our  state, 
brought  the  markets  of  the  world  to  our  doors,  established 
libraries  for  our  use,  and  seem  constantly  to  be  planning  for 
our  welfare.  We  appreciate  all  these  things.  Whatever  of 
prejudice  there  may  have  been  in  the  past  is  gone.  You 
have  been  our  friends.     We  are  yours. 

And  now  to  the  worthy  sons  of  a  proud  ancestry  who  have 
gone  out  into  other  parts,  and  who  come  home  today  to 
participate  in  these  festivities,  we  say  "Welcome."  The 
blood  of  the  Moulton,  the  Bradbury,  the  Say  ward,  the 
Norton,  the  Brackett,  the  Raines,  the  Sewall  and  scores  of 
equally  deserving  ancestors  has  made  itself  felt  in  every  state 
and  territory  in  the  Union.  We  welcome  you  today  to  the 
home  of  your  ancestors. 

To  the  strangers  who  are  with  us  we  give  a  most  hearty 
welcome.  You  come  from  all  walks  of  life  to  aid  us  in  cele- 
brating this  day.     We  appreciate  your  presence.     And  while 

IOI 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

we  make  it  a  festal  day  I  would  recall  the  early  struggles  of 
our  ancestors  in  conquering  the  wilderness  with  its  savage 
inhabitants,  their  patriotism  for  their  sovereign,  the  king  of 
Great  Britain  ;  their  love  of  freedom  which  led  them  to  draft 
in  yonder  church  the  first  Declaration  of  Independence  ever 
written  in  America  and  send  it  by  special  messenger  to  the 
"Selectmen  of  the  town  of  Boston"  with  the  message  that 
should  their  town  decide  to  throw  off  its  allegiance  to  King 
George  they  would  aid  them  "with  their  fortunes  and  their 
lives";  the  great  struggle  for  liberty  which  followed  a  few 
years  later  and  made  this  day  possible. 

Introductory   Address  by  the    President 
of  the  Day. 

The  citizen,  the  perennial  visitor,  the  stranger  within  our 
gates,  are  all  gathered  here,  fittingly  to  celebrate  with  us  the 
birthday  of  dear  old  York.  I  am  glad  we  are  here  today, 
and  that  we  have  the  privilege  of  uniting  heart  and  hand  and 
voice  in  this  grand  demonstration  of  love  and  affection  for 
this  spot,  so  sacred  to  many  of  us  with  tender  memories. 

Even  yonder  churchyard  pays  silent  tribute  to  this  theme, 
and  to  those  who  at  their  country's  call  passed  on. 

If  Old  York  has  one  distinction  more  than  another,  it  is 
that  she  stands  alone  in  her  historic  associations.  We  are 
most  happy  in  having  as  our  guests  today  a  large  delegation 
of  the  Maine  Historical  Society.  Their  honored  President 
also  represents  in  the  same  capacity  the  New  England 
Genealogical  Society  :  there  is  no  man  in  the  state  better 
qualified  to  tell  us  who  and  what  we  are. 

I  have  the  honor,  and  the  very  great  pleasure,  of   intro- 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


during  to  you  as  orator  of   the   day,   Honorable   James   P. 
Baxter  of  Portland. 

Here  followed  the  oration,  by  the  Hon.  James  Phinney 
Baxter,  president  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society  and  of  the 
New  England  Genealogical  and  Historical  Society. 

L,ed  by  the  band,  the  assembly  now  sang  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner." 

President's  Remarks  Continued. 

We  have  upon  the  platform  men  representative  of  the 
bench  and  the  bar,  the  peers  of  any  in  the  world ;  others 
renowned  in  literature  and  the  arts;  we  have  those  who,  by 
their  magic  pen,  have  expressed  in  poetry  and  prose  their 
thoughts  so  eloquently  that  they  have  turned  our  hearts  to 
laughter  as  they  have  moved  our  eyes  to  tears.  The  educa- 
tors of  our  youth  are  here,  as  are  the  merchant,  the  farmer, 
the  mechanic.  The  humorist  whom  all  Americans  delight  to 
honor ;  the  soldier  who  has  carried  our  flag  to  victory,  who 
when  called  upon  responded  with  the  best  that  was  in  him. 

The  hardest  task  of  your  chairman  has  now  befallen  him, 
in  that  he  has  given  his  word  that  some  of  these  will  not  be 
called  upon  to  serve  at  the  feast  to  which  you  have  been 
invited  ;  nevertheless,  they  are  here  to  honor  Old  York,  and 
for  this  we  love  them. 

We  will  first  have  a  word  from  that  veteran  Christian 
soldier  and  patriot  who  has  four  times  been  elected  Governor 
of  Maine,  and  while  he  needs  no  introduction  to  an  Old  York 
audience,  I  am  proud  to  present  to  you,  General  Joshua  L,. 
Chamberlain. 


103 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


Remarks  of  General  Chamberlain  at  the  York 
Celebration. 

Mr.  President,  and  Gracious  Friends  : 

I  am  not  one  of  your  appointed  speakers;  I  am  one  of 
your  relics.  I  had  the  honor  some  time  ago  of  giving  the 
"sermon"  at  the  re-dedication  of  your  historic  old  church 
here :  and  I  dare  say  your  Committee  of  Arrangements 
thought  that  was  enough  of  my  preaching  for  one  generation. 
But  now,  called  up  by  your  courtesy  to  speak,  even  amidst 
these  great  men  whose  words  are  eagerly  heard  far  and  wide 
over  the  land  and  beyond  the  seas,  some  ancient  blood  in  me 
gives  the  boldness  to  offer  what  I  may  among  the  testimonies 
of  the  day. 

Carlyle  has  said,  in  that  epigrammatic  style  by  which  one 
aspect  of  truth  is  put  for  the  truth  itself,  "The  hands  of  for- 
gotten brave  men  have  made  it  a  world  for  us."  In  one  way, 
this  is  true ;  and  it  bears  no  blame  to  us.  We  cannot  store 
in  our  treasuries  of  remembrance  all  the  good  deeds,  nor 
write  on  enduring  tablets  or  even  hold  in  mind  at  once,  the 
names  of  all  those  who  have  done  brave  work  for  man.  It 
would  be  like  trying  to  keep  a  list  of  all  the  great-grand- 
fathers we  have  had.  A  century  or  two  of  that  reckoning 
would  break  down  our  understanding. 

But  this  truism  is  not  perfect  truth.  We  do  not  forget  the 
service,  nor  the  men  and  women,  that  have  had  part  in  mak- 
ing our  life  and  lot.  We  cannot  keep  a  list  of  all  their 
names ;  but  only  of  those  whom  circumstances,  favorable  or 
adverse,  have  made  conspicuous, — not  necessarily  for  that, 
the  most  deserving.  But  the  story  of  their  deeds  we  cherish, 
and  the  transmitted  power  of  their  spirits  we  feel,  as  part  of 

104 


Major  Gen.  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain, 
Brunswick,  Maine. 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


the  great  life  to  which  we  belong.  The  impressive  ceremonial 
of  this  day, — this  assemblage  of  strength  and  beauty  all 
attuned  to  one  high  harmony  of  honoring  remembrance, 
shows  the  great  laws  on  a  mightier  side.  Today  you  both 
accept  and  discriminate  the  truth  in  that  epigram  of  the  for- 
gotten. Indeed,  to  have  uttered  it  is  to  remember  the  for- 
gotten. And  today  you  prove  that  you  remember  those  men 
and  women  gone  from  sight,  even  those  without  a  recorded 
name,  the  relics  of  whose  brave  work  remain  in  pictur- 
esque and  venerated  form,  and  whose  well-doing  still  lives, 
absorbed  into  our  lives. 

Perhaps  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  human  life  that  it  is  a  contin- 
uity. A  specific  difference  this,  from  other  earthly  lives. 
With  us,  too,  all  things  change  and  pass ;  but  their  effects 
are  transmitted  and  multiply,  even  though  often  transmuted 
into  unrecognizable  identities.  None  of  us  lives  to  self,  nor 
wholly  dies.  Man's  work  is  largely  of  inheritance.  It  is 
something  more  than  evolution  ;  it  is  by  a  spiritual  selection 
that  is  different  from  natural  selection.  "Survival  of  the 
fittest,"  indeed;  but  what  or  who  shall  be  called  the  fittest? 
Not,  surely,  the  strongest  of  body  only,  nor  chiefly ;  but  the 
spiritually  strongest.  And  who  shall  analyze  this,  in  its 
powers  and  offices  ? 

We  are  interested  in  the  things  of  ancient  use.  Their 
quaintness  of  form  and  simplicity  of  arrangement  please  us, — 
if  they  sometimes  amuse  us.  We  are  glad  somebody  has 
dug  up  the  stumps  and  got  the  stones  out  of  the  fields,  and 
smoothed  the  way  to  our  ease  and  comfort.  But  such  things 
as  these  are  not  what  we  most  truly  respect.  It  is  the  spirit 
that  bravely  faced  these  difficulties, — the  courage  and  forti- 
tude which  overcame  the  obstacles  of  nature  and  the  assaults 

105 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND   FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

of  enemies,  savage  or  civilized.  We  look  even  with  rever- 
ence at  that  life  which  prepared  the  way  for  ours.  I  do  not 
say,  for  better  things ;  for  we  are  not  sure  that  life  is  better 
now,  looking  at  its  essential  truth  and  character,  its  manhood 
and  womanhood.  It  is  the  strong  characters  which  we  honor, 
and  are  proud  to  claim  as  our  predecessors.  What  if  they 
are  not,  in  a  mere  physical  way,  our  ancestors  ?  We  are  the 
inheritors  of  those  whose  powers  and  virtues  we  honor  and 
love.  They  are  in  truth  our  progenitors, — those  whose  spirit 
has  been  received  into  our  own.  Through  liking  we  take  on 
likeness. 

Those  whose  names  we  honor  today,  and  the  many  whose 
names  have  been  transcribed  to  unseen  rolls,  we  recognize  in 
the  continuity  of  life,  the  inheritance  of  example,  the  persist- 
ence of  vitalizing  ideas  and  principles,  as  our  fore-bearers, — 
if  not  what  the  Scotch  call  "forebears." 

The  persons  who  came  here  in  the  early  times  were  strenu- 
ous characters.  They  were  robust  in  body,  mind,  and  will. 
They  were  independent,  individualistic ; — making  all  the 
stronger  substance  when  their  differences  are  interfused,  har- 
monized, polarized, — like  chemical  combinations,  the  result 
better  perhaps  for  use  than  either  of  the  simple  elements  by 
itself.  The  court  records  of  this  old  county  show  some 
original  notions  of  individual  rights ;  some  peculiar  adjust- 
ments of  the  moral  code  adapted  to  unprecedented  circum- 
stances and  untrammeled  ideas  of  liberty.  The  courts  appear 
to  have  had  quite  a  conventional  code.  The  kinds  of  crimes 
and  misdemeanors  were  curious; — "Theeing  and  thouing 
of  people." — "speaking  discornfully  of  the  Massachusetts 
Court": — "refusing   to   pay  assessments  for  the   support  of 


106 


OF   THE   TOWN    OP    YORK,    MAINE. 


Harvard  College,"  aud  things  like  that, — miniatures  of  the 
the  minor  Mosaic  laws  ! 

You  citizens  bear  in  mind  that  I  absolved  you  from  being 
all  necessarily  blood-relatives  of  these  worthies  of  the  court 
records  ;  indeed,  the  character  of  some  of  the  disorders  implies 
that  Cumberland  was  in  the  old  time  part  of  York.  We 
don't  know  all  our  relatives.  But  anyway  the  people  who 
have  lived  here  have  marked  characters  of  strength.  If  there 
is  anything  conducive  to  this  in  environment,  surely  it  must 
be  abundant  here,  in  a  region  so  rich  of  earth  and  strong  of 
sea,  so  healthful  of  atmosphere,  so  beautiful  of  aspect, — so 
favorable  for  life  in  its  various  experiences  and  demonstra- 
tions, as  this  old  battle  ground  and  garden  of  the  heroic 
times. 

We  recognize  with  admiring  respect  these  representative 
citizens  here  who  bear  the  same  names  or  heart's  blood  as 
those  who  so  long  ago  repudiated  the  mastery  of  anybody 
or  anything  earthly  over  them.  But  others,  too,  who  came 
in  later,  and  we  who  are  deemed  worthy  to  come  in  today  to 
share  this  service  of  honor, — we  desire  to  offer  our  tribute  of 
remembrance  for  the  strong  and  brave  who  here  took  the 
initiative  in  making  this  a  world  for  us;  for  we,  too,  claim  to 
have  part  in  this  inheritance  of  brave  beginnings. 

The  President : 

"Will  you  now  permit  me  to  introduce  one  who  holds  a 
very  large  and  very  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  boys,  old  and 
young,  not  only  of  Maine,  but  of  all  the  States  of  America, 
President  Tucker,  of  Grand  Old  Dartmouth." 


107 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


President  Tucker's  Address. 

President  Tucker's  address  was  as  follows  : 

It  is  well  for  those  of  us  who  are  guests  of  this  ancient 
town  to  be  reminded  that  something  more  than  nature  is 
included  in  its  hospitality.  Personally  I  am  indebted  for  the 
introduction  we  are  having  today  of  this  bit  of  local  human 
life  which  has  unmistakable  quality  and  distinction  about  it. 
I  am  indebted  for  the  change  in  the  type  of  men  which  it 
gives  us — a  change  from  the  type  with  which  we  are  growing 
familiar  to  the  point  of  weariness. 

There  are  fashions  in  men  as  in  everything  else.  We 
become  as  conventional  in  our  estimates  of  our  kind  as  in  our 
estimates  of  things.  Wendell  Phillips  used  to  say,  you 
remember,  that  he  made  his  lecture  on  the  "Lost  Arts"  to 
take  the  conceit  out  of  Yankees.  The  modern  man  who 
exploits  nature,  who  does  his  work  at  a  second  remove  from 
her  with  the  thousand  appliances  which  he  puts  into  his 
hands,  had  his  peer  in  the  man  who,  long  before  his  arrival, 
wrought  his  work  at  first  hand  with  nature,  sometimes  with 
her,  sometimes  against  her. 

The  scantier  his  equipment,  the  heavier  the  draft  which  he 
had  to  make  upon  himself,  upon  his  courage,  his  patience, 
his  invention,  his  faith.  This  habit  of  drawing  on  himself 
may  have  made  him  unsocial,  and  to  our  way  of  thinking 
sometimes  unlovely,  but  he  had  the  fibre  out  of  which  the 
web  of  civilization  is  woven.  As  some  one  has  said  about  the 
Puritan,  "We  may  laugh  at  him  when  he  isn't  round,  but  if 
we  happen  to  stumble  on  him  we  instinctively  take  off  our 
hats." 

And  on  the  other  hand  the  claim  of  this  old  historic  life  is 

108 


Rev.  William  J.  Tucker,  D.  D. 
President  of  Dartmouth  College. 


OF  THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


that  it  had  a  background.  Modern  life  has  no  perspective. 
It  is  all  foreground.  Everything  is  in  plain  sight.  And 
in  the  absence  of  mystery  we  try  to  satisfy  ourselves  with 
bulk — with  numbers,  that  is,  and  amounts ;  we  live  in  the 
atmosphere  of  mathematics  and  mechanics.  But  in  those 
days  behind  every  new  corner  on  their  shores  there  was 
the  mighty  spirit  of  adventure  or  the  mightier  principles 
of  political  and  religious  freedom.  Every  settlement  had 
its  cause  and  reason  in  the  great  movements  which  were 
taking  place  over  the  seas.  This  little  settlement  of  York 
was  a  pawn  on  the  chessboard  of  old  world  politics.  The 
game  was  played  by  wireless  telegraphy.  A  word  from  the 
court  at  Versailles,  and  the  Indians  stole  down  from  the 
north  on  this  errand  of  death.  It  was  one  continual  move 
and  countermove  between  English  and  French,  and  it  was 
the  settler  who  marked  the  play  in  the  fate  of  his  wife  and 
children.  In  fact,  as  our  historians  have  found,  the  best 
place  to  study  the  old  world  politics  of  that  time  is  here,  not 
there.  Quebec  with  its  story  of  incessant  intrigue  or  of  open 
fight  is  the  veriest  bit  of  old  world  life  on  either  continent. 

I  will  add  a  word  of  more  personal  indebtedness  to  this 
occasion.  One  of  the  interesting  things  in  my  work  is  the 
constant  mingling,  as  one  sees  it,  of  the  currents  of  life  from 
the  old  stock  and  the  new  in  the  process  of  the  higher  educa- 
tion. As  might  be  expected  the  new  is  on  the  whole  gaining 
upon  the  old.  The  physical  vitality  of  the  new  peoples,  and 
their  willing  sacrifice  for  social  gains  is  telling  in  education. 
Indeed  the  result  is  at  times  so  marked  that  I  have  been 
compelled  to  say  that  it  is  easier  in  the  educational  world  to 
make  blue  blood  out  of  red  blood,  than  to  make  red  blood  out 
of  blue  blood.     It  is  reassuring,  therefore,  to  come  into  one  of 

109 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

the  homes  of  the  old  stock,  and  to  find  that  family  life  teems 
on  strong  and  uninterrupted  in  its  flow.  I  recognize  the 
names  of  men  from  this  town  in  my  own  college — there  are 
doubtless  others  elsewhere — who  have  in  them  the  blood  of 
the  men  of  the  old  time,  whose  deeds  have  brought  us  here 
today.  It  is  reassuring,  I  say,  to  get  away  for  a  little  from 
the  ubiquitous  self-made  man  among  us  into  the  presence  of 
men  whom  the  L,ord  is  making  according  to  the  old  formula 
— from  generation  to  generation. 

I  acknowledge,  Mr.  President,  from  my  point  of  observa- 
tion the  comforting  and  reassuring  influence  of  this  day's 
proceedings,  and  I  express  once  more  my  indebtedness  for 
the  uncovering  of  the  human  side  of  this  old  town,  which  in 
its  quality  and  tone  matches  so  well  its  setting  in  sea  and  sky. 

The  President : 

"We  have  the  unexpected  pleasure  and  the  honor  of  the 
presence  of  one  whom  Maine  has  lost  that  the  Empire  State 
might  gain,  and  one  whom  the  whole  country  delights  to 
honor,  the  Statesman,  Hon.  Thomas  Brackett  Reed,  whom 
I  beg  to  introduce." 

Mr.  Reed's  Remarks  in  Brief. 

Mr.  Reed  said  that  by  looking  upon  the  programme,  and 
finding  his  name  not  enrolled  there,  one  might  consider  his 
presence  an  intrusion  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  his  ances- 
tors came  from  York,  although  so  far  as  he  could  learn  they 
never  occupied  any  high  position  of  trust.  In  fact  he  had 
hard  work  to  discover  that  they  ever  existed ;  and  certainly 
they  held  no  position  of  great  emolument,  judging  from  his 
financial  condition  when  he  arrived.     He  did   not  wish   to, 

no 


Hon.  Thomas  Bra^kett  Reed, 
New  York  City. 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


but  could  not  help  thinking  of  this  platform  as  a  pulpit,  for 
he  was  fain  to  draw  a  moral  from  the  picture  presented  before 
him.  He  thought  that  with  the  high  example  set  by  their 
illustrious  ancestors,  the  descendants  of  the  settlers  of  York 
should  so  conduct  themselves  as  to  increase  the  nobility  and 
civilization  of  the  world  in  which  they  move. 

The  President : 

"York  has  attracted  to  her  borders  those  whom  other  less 
favored  spots  have  failed  to  capture.  We  have  made  a  most 
fortunate  acquisition  to  our  summer  colony  in  the  person  and 
family  of  one  of  New  York's  most  eminent  counsellors.  It 
gives  me  profound  personal,  as  well  as  official  pleasure,  to 
introduce  Francis  Lynde  Stetson,  Esq.,  of  New  York." 

Mr.  Stetson's  Remarks. 

Since  Gorges,  nine  generations  have  stood  upon  the  earth, 
but  now  and  here  we  think  only  of  such  of  them  as  have 
found  their  homes  in  York.  How  does  this  community  differ 
from  many  others?  In  degree  only  and  not  at  all  in  kind. 
It  is  a  fair  type  of  the  settlements  on  this  New  England 
coast,  and  shares  their  characteristics. 

A  gentle  tidal  stream,  not  too  long  or  wide  for  familiar 
use,  with  a  sun-set  glory  of  its  own,  slowly  seeks  the  eastern 
ocean,  from  which  it  is  almost  shut  away  by  a  tongue  of  land 
rising  abruptly  at  the  channel's  mouth.  A  few  slight  inden- 
tations of  the  shore,  with  two  projecting  points  and  a  nubble 
and  a  cape.  Some  rocky  cliffs,  not  over  high  or  rugged,  and 
three  softly  sloping  beaches.  Islands  far  out  at  sea  to  the 
south  and  east,  with  lights  at  night,  and  one  low  mountain 
inland  at  the  northwest. 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


By  these  physical  features  you  have  long  been  identified, 
but  only  within  the  last  quarter  century  have  they  allured 
from  distant  homes  and  former  fields  of  pleasure  the  many 
strangers  whose  joy  it  is  here  to  find  their  chosen  rest  and 
recreation.  Clearly,  then,  upon  this  quarter  millenial  day 
you  have  gathered,  not  to  dwell  upon  the  charm  of  stream  and 
shore  and  sea,  but  rather  to  commemorate  the  community 
which  upon  this  rock  bound  coast  for  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years  has  sustained  life  and  faced  death  with  cheerful 
fortitude.  One  leader  you  have  had  worthy  to  give  dis- 
tinction to  the  town  which  he  honored  for  almost  a  century. 
David  Sewall,  like  him  from  whom  he  took  his  name,  was  a 
man  after  God's  own  heart,  and  his  people's  prophet.  It  is, 
however,  not  any  leader,  but  the  people  themselves  to  whose 
memory  this  day  is  piously  devoted ;  not  the  great  achieve- 
ments of  the  few,  but  the  common  duties  bravely  endured 
and  faithfully  fulfilled  by  the  many  as  part  of  the  common 
lot.  The  short  and  simple  annals  of  these  plain  lives  may 
not  each  be  told,  but  together  they  have  made  a  commu- 
nity, which  in  all  essentials  has  shown  little  change  from 
year  to  year,  and  but  slight  variation  from  other  towns  upon 
this  coast. 

In  these  New  England  communities  life  has  been  so 
homogeneous  as  to  seem  to  Matthew  Arnold  uninteresting, 
and  to  many  monotonous.  But  that  single  tone  ever  has 
found  its  key  in  conscience,  and  has  sought  for  harmony  with 
the  revealed  will  of  God.  From  communities  thus  attuned  to 
duty  has  come  the  calm  resolution  that  captured  the  Philip- 
pines, and  the  passion  for  justice  and  liberty  that  will  make  it 
impossible  to  keep  them  captive. 

Out  of  the  present,  as  well  as  from  the  past,  in  the  ful- 


Francis  Lynde  Stetson,  Esq., 
New  York  City. 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


ness  of  time  will  develop  the  millennium  of  right  that  shall  be 
the  heritage  alike  of  York,  and  of  our  beloved  Union,  which 
after  all  is  only  an  aggregation  of  Yorks.  The  dawning  of 
that  millennium,  though  gradual  as  daybreak,  is  the  confident 
belief  of  all  Americans,  except  the  very  few  whose  instinct  is 
despair.  With  them  we  will  commiserate,  but  we  will  not 
sympathize.  Not  despondency  but  hope  is  justified  by  the 
record  of  our  past  progress,  and  by  our  present  conditions. 
At  your  next  great  feast  of  commemoration  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  York  surely  shall  declare  that  here,  and  in  New 
England,  life  is  not  only  true,  but  that  it  is  also  interesting; 
and  that  your  people  are  as  generous  as  just." 

The  President : 

"What  can  I  say  that  you  do  not  already  know  of  the 
author,  the  poet,  the  citizen,  the  genial  friend,  the  man  and 
all  that  it  implies  and  for  which  it  stands.  The  possessor  of 
these  attributes,  our  honored  friend,  will  speak  to  you,  Mr. 
Thomas  Nelson  Page." 

Thomas  Nelson  Page's  Address. 

The  thoughts  called  up  by  such  a  celebration  as  this  are 
curiously  diverse.  The  outside  is  all  joy  ;  jollity ;  merry- 
making ;  pride  in  achievement ;  content  with  the  present ; 
hope  and  assurance  for  the  future.  And  it  may  well  be  so. 
We  are  gathered  here  today  to  celebrate  the  two  hundred  and 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  establishment  of  the  Town  of  York 
— to  celebrate  more  than  this — for  other  places  had  a  little 
the  start  of  us.  Roanoke  Island,  Jamestown,  Henrico, 
Hampton,  Plymouth,  Salem,  Kittery,  Ipswich,  and  other 
places   claim   to  have  been  settled  before  us.     But  so  were 

113 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Messapotamia  and  Greenland.  In  colonization  as  in  logic 
and  in  war,  the  thing  is  not  merely  to  assume  a  position  but 
to  maintain  it.  Roanoke  was  destroyed  by  the  Croatan 
Indians ;  Jamestown  yielded  to  the  deadly  fever  of  the 
autumnal  marshes  ;  Plymouth  was  swallowed  up  by  Mass- 
achusetts. And  so  passed  one  and  another.  But  York's 
pre-eminence  is  based  on  her  having  survived  all  the  chances 
and  changes  of  the  two  centuries  and  a  half  that  have  rolled 
by  since  her  people  planted  themselves  on  the  fair  slopes  that 
stretched  beside  the  Agamenticus  and  like  their  great  elms 
struck  their  roots  so  deep  and  lastingly  into  the  soil  that  they 
have  never  since  been  eradicated. 

It  is  this  that  we  have  assembled  to  celebrate.  You,  the 
native-born  people  of  York ;  you,  the  descendants  of  the 
settlers  of  York,  and  the  rest  of  us  who  have  come  from  other 
Yorks  ;  but  all  with  the  blood  and  brawn  and  principles  that 
made  and  have  kept  this  York  continuously  for  250  years. 
The  pride  that  we  express  today  is  in  the  fact  that  this  town 
which  the  fathers  and  grandfathers  of  you  citizens  of  York 
for  six,  seven,  eight  generations  settled  and  kept  settled 
against  all  the  forces  of  Nature  and  of  Time,  is,  perhaps,  the 
oldest  continuous  chartered  settlement  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  on  this  continent.  Exposed  to  rovers  of  the  sea  on  one 
side ;  to  the  fierce  savages  of  the  forest  on  the  other,  your 
ancestors  yet  held  their  own  with  a  grim  resolution  that 
should  be  your  personal  pride  as  it  is  the  national  pride  of  us 
who  come  from  other  sections  of  the  country,  and  claim 
kindred  with  you — that  kindred  which  children  of  one  blood 
have  who  have  played  together,  fought  together,  loved 
together,  suffered  together  and  hoped  together.  The  rigors 
of  winter,  the  niggard  soil  only  inspired  to  greater  effort  and 

114 


Mr.  Thomas  Nklsox  Page, 
Washington,  I).   C. 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


gave  them  a  sterner  resolution  and  a  stouter  fibre.  Here  was 
their  home  and  here  they  lived  from  generation  to  generation 
preserving  the  courage,  the  independence,  the  virtue,  and  the 
civilization  of  the  forefathers. 

With  the  home  and  the  town-hall,  they  were  ready  to  meet 
all  problems  of  government ;  with  the  meeting-house  and  the 
jail  they  could  defy  the  devil  and  control  his  children. 

They  lived  in  a  stern  age  and  they  met  sternness  with 
sternness,  iron  with  iron.  They  feared  God,  but  they  feared 
no  man,  and  history  says  the  governors  had  rather  a  stormy 
time  with  them.  If  the  governors  were  trying  to  get  any- 
thing out  of  them  which  was  not  their  due,  history  very 
likely  tells  the  truth.  They  knew  their  rights,  and  knowing, 
dared  maintain.  They  did  not  live  so  much  off  to  themselves 
that  they  did  not  keep  pace  with  public  affairs,  and  when  the 
trouble  came  between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country 
they  took  their  part  and  sent  a  deputation  to  Boston  to 
pledge  their  arms  and  their  fortunes  to  the  common  cause. 
Nor  was  their  offer  an  idle  boast,  for  we  are  told  that  within 
twenty-four  hours  of  the  news  of  L,exington  a  company 
marched  for  Boston. 

You  may  well  be  proud  of  their  achievement,  you  who  are 
descended  from  them.  Coming  as  I  do  from  an  old  house  on 
the  banks  of  another  York  River  in  another  colony  planted 
by  the  same  people,  I  feel  the  thrill  of  pride  in  them  as  an 
integral  part  yet  kindred  with  my  own  people  ;  of  that  great 
race  which  established  trial  by  jury ;  and  the  Writ  of  Habeas 
Corpus  ;  who  claimed  the  principle  that  government  is  based 
on  the  consent  of  the  governed,  proved  the  right  of  local  self- 
government,  and  substituted  for  military  tyranny  representa- 
tive government. 

115 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND   FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Your  country  has  opened  up  as  your  fathers  never  dreamed 
of  its  being  opened.  You  are  within  two  hours  of  Boston, 
within  seven  hours  of  New  York  and  within  two  days  of  New 
Orleans.  Your  climate  which  was  once  esteemed  your  great- 
est handicap  has  proved  a  golden  dower ;  and  people  come 
from  distant  states  to  partake  of  its  benefits,  paying  you  a 
richer  tribute  than  ever  Rome  levied  on  her  barbarian  tribu- 
taries. 

I  was  sincerely  pleased  to  be  asked  to  speak  here  today, 
much  more  pleased  doubtless  than  some  of  my  hearers  ;  but 
I  cannot  help  that.  My  pleasure,  apart  from  that  natural 
pleasure  that  a  man  has  in  hearing  himself  talk,  is  based  on 
the  fact  that  it  shows  my  interest  in  York — my  virtue  as  a 
citizen  of  York,  was  understood.  I  did  not  know  before  that 
it  was  quite  appreciated. 

You  may  remember  the  story  of  the  negro  soldier  who 
spent  the  day  on  top  of  San  Juan  Hill  with  a  pick.  "Umph!" 
he  said  as  he  drove  his  pick  home,  digging  a  trench,  "I 
never  did  spec'  de  day  to  come  when  I'd  love  a  pick."  I 
never  expected  the  day  to  come  when  I'd  feel  the  deep 
affection  that  warms  my  heart  for  these  Yankees  up  here. 

Has  it  ever  struck  you  how  strong  is  the  resemblance  ; 
how  universal  are  their  characteristics  ;  how  much  alike  they 
are  ?  There  are  differences  it  is  true  ;  but  they  are  mainly 
the  difference  between  city  breeding  and  country  breeding — 
the  racial  characteristics  are  the  same.  All  the  rest  is 
personal,  a  mere  veneer. 

The  reason  is  that  these  people  are  all  of  the  same  race ; 
all  have  the  same  history  ;  all  have  the  same  traditions  ;  all 
have  the  same  virtues  and  the  same  failings ;  worship  the 
same  God ;  take  pride  in  the  same  past  ;  look  forward  with 

Tl6 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


hope  to  the  same  future  and  cherish  the  same  aspirations  for 
this  world  and  the  next. 

But  elsewhere  in  our  country  are  large  numbers  of  people 
of  other  races  and  with  other  traditions ;  people  who  have 
not  the  past  that  we  have,  but  who,  bred  under  tyranny, 
have  suddenly  found  themselves  in  a  liberty  which  they 
know  not  how  to  appreciate  or  to  preserve.  They  have 
become  a  part  of  our  body  politic,  but  are  alien  as  yet  to  its 
principles.  They  must  either  be  absorbed  into  it  or  must  be 
held  aloof  from  it. 

As  our  fathers  had  their  problems  to  solve,  their  enemies 
to  fight  and  conquer,  their  principles  to  establish  and  pre- 
serve, so  have  we  ours. 

It  is  said  that  Republican  Government  is  on  trial  with  us. 
If  we  fail,  it  is  done,  forever. 

If  history  teaches  any  lesson  it  teaches  that  liberty,  so  slow 
a  growth  that  it  takes  centuries  to  come  into  being ;  yet  is  so 
delicate  a  growth  that  it  may  be  cut  down  almost  in  a  night. 
We  know  that  Eternal  Vigilance  is  its  price.  It  may  exist 
in  its  externals  even  under  a  tyranny  not  less  real  than  that 
of  Rome,  or  Venice,  or  Mexico;  but  it  can  survive  only 
with  a  people  who  love  it  above  wealth  or  power  or  fame  or 
life  itself.  None  of  us  would  be  greatly  surprised  to  find 
tyranny  in  the  form  of  monarchy  re-asserting  itself  in  France. 
Many  of  us  would  be  hardly  surprised  to  find  it  reasserting 
itself  in  some  of  our  sister  Republics  of  South  America, 
though  it  should  keep  its  Republican  name  and  form.  But 
all  of  us  would  be  amazed  to  awake  and  find  it  existing  in 
our  own  land.  This  is  ultimately  because  of  the  character 
of  our  people.  We  have  come  to  consider  liberty  as  much  a 
part   of  our   being   as   the   air   we   breathe.     Yet  when  we 

ii7 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

reflect,  it  is  only  a  little  more  than  a  hundred  years  since  we 
were  under  the  dominion  of  a  King  who  would  as  gladly 
have  reduced  us  to  the  condition  of  the  Muscovites  as  Peter 
or  Paul  of  Russia,  and  it  is  only  two  hundred  years  since  we 
were  the  subjects  of  a  King  who  sacrificed  his  kingdom  to 
his  idea  of  privilege. 

It  rests  with  you  to  preserve  what  your  forefathers  secured 
and  handed  down  to  you.  It  is  on  the  sterling  independence 
of  our  American  people ;  on  their  love  of  liberty ;  their 
homely  virtues  that  the  hope  of  liberty  and  of  virtue  in  the 
world  rests. 

Wealth  piles  up  in  the  central  marts.  The  power  of  organ- 
ization is  so  tremendous  that  it  brings  about  vast  aggrega- 
tions of  capital,  till  it  is  said  that  the  inequality  is  such  that 
one-third  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  population  own  seventy  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  property  of  the  country  in  value;  that  is, 
assuming  that  three  hundred  men  own  $100,  one  of  these 
owns  $70,  and  the  other  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  own 
together  the  other  $30.  This  would  matter  little  if  with  the 
wealth  did  not  go  hand  in  hand  corruption — not  mere  per- 
sonal corruption,  for  the  corruption  of  one  man  counts  for 
little,  but  corruption  by  organization,  corruption  of  the 
fountain  heads  of  legislation  of  justice. 

With  you  rests  the  remedy — with  you  and  your  like  the 
home-staying,  sturdy,  independent  American  people. 

The  President : 

"It  remains  for  one  who  has  recently  come  to  us  in  the  flesh 

to  round  up  this  feast  and  to  make  smooth  the  rough  places. 

"If   there  is   a   human   being   in   the  civilized  world,  old 

enough  to  think,  who  has  not  heard  of  Mark  Twain,   I  am 

118 


Mr.  Samuel  L.  Clemens  [Mark  Twain], 
New   York. 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


sorry  for  him.  I  desire  publicly  to  welcome  to  York  one 
who  can  tell  us  something  of  this  distinguished  writer  and 
speaker,  and  at  the  same  time  to  thank  him  for  his  kind 
co-operation  and  presence.  I  beg  to  introduce  Mr.  Samuel 
h.  Clemens." 

Remarks  by  Mr.  Samuel  h.  Clemens. 

Mr.  Clemens  began  in  a  markedly  characteristic  vein  to 
say  that  he  had  come  to  York  to  instruct  it  in  its  ancient 
history,  to  rectify  the  morals  of  its  inhabitants  and  to  other- 
wise do  valuable  things  in  the  way  of  didactics.  He  found 
himself  prevented  from  so  doing  by  the  example  of  another, 
and  noted  with  surprise  that  Thomas  B.  Reed  should  mis- 
take a  desk  for  a  pulpit,  especially  as  the  speaker  was  one 
who,  in  time  gone  by,  had  amazed  the  nations  of  the  world, 
the  human  race,  and,  added  Mr.  Clemens,  "even  myself!" 

He  said  a  letter  signed  "One  of  the  Victims"  had  just 
been  handed  him  from  the  audience  and  contained  several 
compliments,  things  which  he  never  overlooked  ;  and  would 
the  writer  please  rise?  The  letter  stated  that  there  had 
never  been  any  but  the  best  weather  until  he  had  come  to 
York,  and  seemed  to  place  the  blame  entirely  on  him, 
demanding  that  he  either  apologize  or  go  away.  The  first, 
he  might  do,  but  the  alternative  he  would  meet  with  a  flat 
refusal.  In  thirty-seven  days  he  had  had  no  fault  to  find 
with  the  weather  as  he  had  stayed  strictly  at  home,  and  the 
rain  seemed  to  come  only  when  it  thought  it  could  catch  one 
out.  For  thirty-four  of  the  thirty-seven  days  he  had  worked 
and  that  was  something  he  never  before  had  been  able  to  do. 
The  climate,  he  thought,  prevented  moral  deterioration,  for 
he  had  worked  four  Sundays  without  breaking  the  Sabbath. 

119 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

The  author  then  said  he  was  a  little  deaf,  but  not  so  much 
so  as  to  miss  the  many  compliments  which  had  preceded,  and 
not  so  blind  as  not  to  see  that  they  all  referred  to  him. 
When  Ex-Gov.  Chamberlain  referred  to  "the  intellectually 
brilliant,"  the  speaker  had  noticed  that  he  had  looked 
straight  at  him.  To  some  this  would  be  embarrassing,  but 
where  deserved  it  was  not  so  at  all. 

One  of  the  most  serious  questions  with  which  he  had  to 
contend  in  York  was  matches.  If  he  wished  to  smoke  it 
was  next  to  impossible  to  get  a  light.  He  could  buy  only  a 
sort  of  match  with  a  picture  of  the  inventor  on  each  box  and 
labelled  "Safety."  He  felt  free  to  say  that  they  are  so  safe 
one  cannot  light  them.  Even  Satan,  the  inventor  and  a  dis- 
tant relative  of  his,  can't  use  them  for  he  has  no  appliances 
to  make  them  go,  and  is  utilizing  them  to  build  cold  storage 
vaults  for  such  choice  morsels  as  Voltaire,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Alexander  VI ;  and,  added  the  speaker,  "he  has  a  wistful  eye 
on  some  other  notables  not  yet  started,  and  here  present." 

Another  serious  question  for  Mr.  Clemens  was  the  confu- 
sion of  post  offices  in  this  town — York  Cliffs,  York  Beach, 
York  Harbor,  York  Village,  York  Corner,  and  so  on.  In 
fact,  one  cannot  throw  a  brickbat  across  a  thirty-seven  acre 
lot  without  danger  of  disabling  a  postmaster ;  they  are  as 
thick  as  aldermen  in  the  days  of  the  old  city  charter. 

If  he  stayed  here  he  expected  to  attend  York's  tri-centen- 
nial  in  fifty  years,  for  already  he  had  grown  younger  by  many 
years  than  he  was  on  his  arrival. 

After  the  singing  of  America  by  the  entire  assembly  stand- 
ing, the  Reverend  Sidney  K.  Perkins,  pastor  of  the  First 
Parish  Church,  pronounced  the  benediction. 


Stairway,  Coventry  Hall. 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


IReception. 


At  the  reception  given  at  the  close  of  the  public  exercises 
to  the  visiting  members  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society  at 
Coventry  Hall,  the  old  "Judge  Sewall  Mansion,"  there  were 
present,  among  others,  Mr.  James  P.  Baxter,  Mr.  Percy  P. 
Baxter,  Miss  Emily  Baxter,  Miss  Madeline  Baxter,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  H.  W.  Bryant,  Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Burrage,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Samuel  Buffum  of  North  Berwick,  Mr.  Edward  A. 
Butler  of  Rockland,  Gen.  J.  L.  Chamberlain,  Mr.  Henry 
Deering,  Mr.  Nathan  Goold,  Mr.  Isaac  M.  Emery  of  Ken- 
nebunkport,  Mrs.  Harmon,  Miss  J.  Crie,  Miss  Helen  M. 
Howarth,  Miss  Frances  Howarth,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  H. 
Moulton,  Mr.  Augustus  F.  Moulton,  Mr.  A.  R.  Stubbs,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  A.  L,.  Talbot  of  L,ewiston,  Mr.  Richmond  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  Mr.  Frederick  S.  Vaill,  Mr.  Joseph  Wood,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Stephen  H.  Weeks,  Miss  Weeks,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  I,.  M. 
Willis,  the  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Francis  L,ynde  Stetson, 
Esq.,  and  Mrs.  Stetson,  Mr.  William  Dean  Howells,  Miss 
^arah  Orne  Jewett  and  Miss  Jewett,  Mr.  Thomas  Nelson 
Page  and  Mrs.  Page,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walter  M.  Smith,  Mrs. 
Hungerford,  Miss  Louise  Smith,  Mr.  Frank  D.  Marshall, 
the  Hon.  Edward  O.  Emerson  and  Mrs.  Emerson,  Miss  Con- 
stance Emerson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  L.  Cheney,  Mrs. 
Thatcher  Loring,  Mrs.  James  T.  Davidson,  Mrs.  Newton 
Perkins,  Mrs.  Charles  C.  Barrell  and  the  Misses  Barrell,  Mr. 
John  E.  Staples,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Burleigh,  Mrs.  Matilda 
Burleigh,  Miss  Ellen  M.  Dennett,  Mr.  Josiah  Chase,  Mrs. 
Emma  Paul,  Miss  Florence  Paul  and  Miss  Gertrude  Paul, 
Miss  Maud  Gelchrist  Sewall,  Miss  Rachel  Kenyon  Sewall 
and  Miss  Elizabeth  Trufant  Sewall. 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 


Zbc  Cburcbee  aito  flMnietere  of  tbe 
Gown  of  HJorfe. 


A  Paper  Read  at  the  Commemorative  Service  in  the  Parish 
Church,  on  Sunday  Evening,  Aug.  3,  1902,  by  the 

Rev.  SIDNEY  K.  PERKINS,  Pastor. 

This  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  churches  and  ministers  of 
York  as  it  relates  to  the  First  Church  and  its  true  child,  the 
Second  Church,  in  the  Scotland  or  Upper  Parish,  is  already 
familiar  to  many  present,  so  that  for  such  hearers  there  is 
nothing  new  to  be  said ;  but  for  those  who  are  strangers  to 
our  history  there  may  be  special  interest  in  the  "twice  told 
tale." 

That  the  early  history  of  the  First  Church  and  Parish  of 
York  was  of  unusual  interest  is  indicated  by  the  traditions 
that  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  days  when  York  was  the 
leading  town  in  the  "Province  of  Maine."  The  ecclesiastical 
history  begins  at  a  somewhat  later  date  than  the  story  of  the 
town.  But  an  old  record  says  that  "The  people  of  this  town 
were  probably  supplied  with  preaching  from  the  earliest  set- 
tlement of  the  place.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  a  people 
who  had  been  always  accustomed  to  religious  privileges,  and 
some  of  whom  had  left  their  native  land  for  conscience's  sake, 
would  be  long  without  the  stated  administration  of  the  Word 
of  God,  and  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel." 

It  was  probably  the  intention  of  Gorges  and  his  associates 
to  establish  the  Church  of  England  here,  for,  in  the  words  of 


Rev.  Sidney  K.  Perkins, 
Pastor  of  First  Parish  Church,  York. 


OP   THE   TOWN    OP   YORK,    MAINE. 


the  charter  given  by  the  King,  it  was  declared  that  "Our  will 
and  pleasure  is  that  the  religion  now  professed  in  the  Church 
of  England  and  ecclesiastical  government  now  used  in  the 
same,  shall  be  ever  hereafter  professed,  and  with  as  much 
convenient  speed  as  may  be,  settled  and  established  in  and 
throughout  the  province."  But  no  Episcopal  church  appears 
to  have  been  established  in  York,  although  some  of  its  clergy 
are  mentioned  as  having  officiated  here.  The  first  minister 
known  to  have  been  resident  here  was  Rev.  Shubael  Dum- 
mer,  an  ancestor  of  one  now  on  this  platform  (Rev.  Frank 
Sewall,  D.  D.).  Mr.  Dummer  was  a  native  of  Newbury, 
Mass.,  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard. 

He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  this  town.  He  per- 
formed the  unusual  service  of  preaching  his  own  ordination 
sermon  from  the  text,  Psalm  80:  14:  "Return,  O  I,ord,  and 
visit  this  vine."  It  is  naturally  inferred  that,  according  to 
the  general  custom,  the  organization  of  the  church  preceded 
the  ordination  of  the  pastor;  so  that  this  church,  notwith- 
standing the  loss  of  the  early  records,  reasonably  assumes  its 
organization  to  have  been  not  later  than  1673,  thus  making  it 
the  oldest  ecclesiastical  organization  in  the  State  of  Maine. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dummer  is  described  as  "a  very  serious,  godly 
man,"  and  he  continued  his  service  as  minister  to  the  people 
of  York  until  that  sad  morning,  January  25,  1692,  when  the 
settlement  was  surprised  by  hostile  Indians,  some  fifty  of  the 
inhabitants  killed,  and  one  hundred  carried  into  captivity, 
among  the  latter,  the  wife  of  Mr.  Dummer.  The  minister 
himself  was  shot  and  killed  just  as  he  was  mounting  his  horse 
near  his  house,  which,  tradition  says,  was  near  the  "roaring 
rock." 

After  the  tragic  death  of  the  first  minister,  for  a  period  of 

"3 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

five  years  there  was  "little  or  no  preaching  in  York."  The 
people  were  disheartened,  and  reduced  in  numbers  and 
resources  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  invasion. 

In  writing  of  this  period,  Rev.  Rufus  M.  Sawyer,  a  former 
pastor  of  this  church,  says  that  "The  restraints  of  religion 
were  very  much  removed,  and  levity  and  wickedness  rapidly 
spread. 

"A  few,  indeed,  refined  in  the  furnace  of  affliction,  walked 
near  God ;  while  the  majority,  forgetting  the  faithful  instruc- 
tions of  their  deceased  pastor,  treated  religion  lightly,  and 
lived  as  though  they  were  made  for  no  higher  purpose  than 
to  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry." 

It  was  at  this  time  that  a  young  man  appeared  on  the 
scene,  who  was  destined  to  spend  a  long  life  in  York,  and  to 
wield  an  influence  never  to  be  forgotten. 

This  young  man  was  Samuel  Moody,  also  a  native  of 
Newbury,  Mass.,  like  Mr.  Dummer,  his  predecessor;  and 
like  him  also,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College. 

Samuel  Moody  was  only  twenty-three  years  old  when  he 
came  to  preach  as  a  candidate  to  the  people  of  York  in  May, 
1698 — and  it  was  two  years  later  before  he  was  ordained  as 
pastor.  Young  Moody  came  here  in  a  true  missionary  spirit, 
recognizing  the  poverty  of  his  new  parish.  He  settled  with- 
out a  stipulated  salary,  disposed  to  live  a  life  of  faith  in  God, 
and  in  his  parishoners.  Yet  he  did  think  it  worth  his  while 
to  appeal  to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  for  assistance. 
This  appeal  was  granted  to  the  extent  of  twelve  pound  ster- 
ling, or  sixty  dollars  of  our  money. 

A  rare  combination  of  courage,  faith,  and  love  is  implied 
in  the  willingness  of  this  young  minister,  and  his  bride, 
Hannah  Sewall,  of  Newbury,  only  daughter  of  John  Sewall, 

124 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


to  settle  in  this  frontier  parish  which  from  that  time  onward 
for  nearly  fifty  years  was  never  so  free  from  peril  of  Indian 
attack  that  men  dared  to  leave  their  arms  behind  them  when 
they  went  to  church. 

The  meeting-house  first  used  stood  below  the  dwelling  of 
William  L,unt  and  this  side  the  residence  of  W.  T.  Keen. 

Later,  the  second  house  was  erected,  and  was  the  original 
building  from  which  the  house  in  which  we  are  now  assem- 
bled has  been  successively  remodelled. 

It  was  erected  during  the  lifetime  of  Father  Moody.  A 
rare  combination  of  qualities  belonged  to  Samuel  Moody, 
making  him  loved,  respected  and  even  feared  by  his  people. 
Samuel  Moody  was  distinguished  for  his  unselfishness;  his 
own  interests  seem  to  have  been  among  the  last  things  he 
ever  considered. 

Willing  to  live  without  a  stipulated  salary,  he  was  equally 
willing  to  give  away  what  he  received  to  anybody  whose 
need  seemed  greater.  Many  stories  are  told  illustrating  this 
feature  of  his  character.  His  good  wife  seems  to  have  appre- 
ciated her  husband's  virtues,  or  perhaps  as  she  may  have 
sometimes  thought  to  herself,  his  failings,  for  it  is  said  that 
on  one  occasion  she  took  pains,  when  Mr.  Moody  was  about 
leaving  home  for  a  journey,  to  tie  his  his  purse  securely  in 
his  handkerchief,  tying  several  hard  knots,  so  that  the  good 
man  might  have  time  to  think  while  untying  them.  But  the 
outcome  was  disappointing  to  Mrs.  Moody,  for  finding  the 
knots  hard,  the  husband  lost  his  patience,  and  bestowed 
handkerchief,  purse,  and  all  upon  a  poor  beggar,  saying, 
"The  L,ord  must  have  meant  that  you  should  have  it  all." 

On  another  occasion  the  good  minister  saw  two  geese  flying 
overhead,  and  the  larder  being  low,  he  told  the  Lord  that  if 

125 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

He  would  give  him  both  geese  he  would  give  the  best  one  to 
a  poor  neighbor.  Both  birds  came  down,  one  was  fat,  the 
other  lean,  but  true  to  his  word,  in  spite  of  his  thrifty  wife's 
remonstrance,  he  sent  the  fat  goose  straightway  to  his  poor 
neighbor. 

At  still  another  time,  a  cold  frosty  morning,  a  poor  woman 
appeared  at  the  door  barefooted,  and  begged  for  shoes.  Mr. 
Moody  promptly  gave  her  a  pair  belonging  to  his  wife,  which 
proved  to  be  the  only  pair  she  had.  When  the  good  lady 
became  aware  of  her  loss,  the  husband  sought  to  appease  her 
wrath  by  saying  that  the  L,ord  would  send  another  pair  before 
night.  And  as  though  to  justify  the  simple  faith  of  the  good 
man,  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon  a  neighbor  came  in  bring- 
ing a  pair  of  shoes  which  he  explained  were  too  small  for  his 
wife,  and  perhaps  they  would  be  acceptable  to  Mrs.  Moody, 
whose  feet  they  fitted.  These  stories,  and  many  like  them, 
illustrate  the  freedom  from  worldly  care  which  characterized 
this  good  man. 

The  parishioners  were  not  insensible  to  the  self-denials  of 
their  pastor.  They  built  him  a  house  and  hired  a  man  to 
manage  the  farm.  At  one  time  it  is  said  that  a  negro  was 
purchased  by  the  parish  to  do  this  work.  But  for  only  a 
brief  period  did  the  First  Parish  of  York  appear  in  the  role 
of  slaveholder. 

Father  Moody  appreciated  the  thoughtfulness  of  his  parish- 
ioners but  he  steadily  repelled  any  suggestions  looking  toward 
the  payment  of  a  regular  salary.  In  one  of  his  sermons  he 
said  that  for  twenty  years  he  had  been  supported  in  a  way 
most  pleasing  to  him,  and  had  been  under  no  need  of  spend- 
ing one  hour  in  the  week  in  care  for  the  world. 

When  he  became  an  old  man,  an  article  was  inserted  in  a 

126 


OF   THE   TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


warrant  for  parish  meeting  "to  see  if  the  parish  would  settle 
a  salary  upon  Mr.  Moody."  Whereupon  he  attended  the 
meeting,  and  opposed  the  article  when  it  was  brought  up. 

His  friends  told  him  that  he  was  now  an  old  man,  and 
received  only  a  poor  support,  and  what  little  he  did  get  came 
from  his  best  friends,  and  that  it  operated  very  unequally  in 
the  parish.  To  all  this  Father  Moody  replied,  "Who  are  my 
best  friends?"  And  not  waiting  for  an  answer  he  named  a 
number  of  persons,  saying,  "Are  not  these  my  best  friends?" 
It  was  assented  to.  "Well,  are  not  these  the  best  livers 
in  town?"  They  were  certainly  well  off,  and  he  replied, 
"Yea,  and  they  always  will  be  so  while  they  lay  themselves 
out  for  the  support  of  the  gospel." 

It  is  a  disappointment  that  no  picture  of  Mr.  Moody  exists, 
and  that  there  is  not  even  a  description  of  his  personal 
appearance.  In  the  current  number  of  the  New  England 
magazine — in  an  article  on  York — there  is  a  silhouette  of 
Hannah  Sewall,  the  first  wife  of  Rev.  Samuel  Moody,  but  I 
have  seen  nothing  of  the  kind  relating  to  Mr.  Moody.  Yet 
we  have  such  a  clear  portrait  of  the  mental,  moral,  and  spirit- 
ual qualities  of  Samuel  Moody  that  we  can  well  spare  the 
physical  likeness,  and  feel  that  we  know  the  real  man. 

That  he  was  capable  of  preaching  a  strong  discourse,  like 
many  another  "Colonial  parson,"  is  evident  from  a  printed 
sermon  still  extant.  The  subject  is  suggestive,  being,  "The 
Doleful  State  of  the  Damned — Especially  Such  as  go  to  Hell 
from  Under  the  Gospel." 

Such  sermons  from  Mr.  Moody  bear  witness  to  his  stern 
sense  of  duty.  But  this  stern  sense  of  duty  was  coupled,  as 
we  have  seen,  with  the  utmost  human  charity  and  love  for 
his  fellow  men. 

127 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

He  was  in  practical  relations  a  bold  and  fearless  preacher. 

At  one  time  when  a  wealthy  parishioner  had  held  on  to  his 
large  stock  of  corn  in  a  time  of  great  scarcity,  in  hopes  of 
raising  the  price,  Mr.  Moody  preached  from  these  words : 
"He  that  withholdeth  corn,  the  people  shall  curse  him,  but 
blessing  shall  be  upon  the  head  of  him  that  selleth  it." 
While  the  pastor  was  preaching  this  sermon,  the  offending 
parishioner  faced  him  with  a  look  of  stolid  indifference.  Mr. 
Moody  grew  warmer,  as  he  went  on  with  his  discourse,  until 
finally  he  lost   all  patience,  and  calling  his   parishioner   by 

name  he  cried,  "Colonel  I ,  Colonel  I ,  you  know  I 

mean  you.     Why  don't  you  hang  your  head?" 

Another  day  the  same  parishioner's  wife  came  sweeping 
into  the  church  in  a  new  hooped  dress,  then  very  fashionable, 
and  Mr.  Moody  cried  from  the  pulpit:  "Here  she  comes — 
here  she  comes — gallant  and  top-gallant,  rigged  most  beauti- 
fully, and  sailing  most  majestically,  but  she  has  a  leak,  that 
will  sink  her  to  hell."  Yet  in  the  face  of  such  direct  attack 
he  was  not  asked  to  read  his  resignation. 

Ministers  and  people  were  very  forbearing  toward  each 
other  in  those  days. 

Father  Moody's  style  of  preaching,  as  evident  from  such 
anecdotes  as  those  just  mentioned,  was  very  direct  and  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  carefully  written  discourses  of  his 
son-in-law,  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson,  of  Maiden,  Mass.,  who, 
by  the  way,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Emersons  of  York.  The 
people  of  York  had  a  great  admiration  for  Mr.  Emerson's 
sermons.  This  was  known  to  Father  Moody  and  he  thought 
he  would  imitate  Mr.  Emerson's  method. 

One  trial  was  sufficient  for  Mr.  Moody.  Before  he  had 
proceeded  far  in  reading  his  sermon  he  stopped,  and  looked 

128 


OF   THE   TOWN   OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


around  upon  his  hearers,  and  said:  "Emerson  must  be 
Emerson  and  Moody  must  be  Moody — I  feel  as  if  my  head 
was  in  a  bag.  You  call  Moody  a  rambling  preacher,  and  it 
is  true  enough,  but  he  is  just  fit  to  catch  up  rambling  sin- 
ners. You  are  all  run  away  from  the  Lord."  And  then  he 
proceeded  in  his  accustomed  way  of  preaching. 

But  in  spite  of  such  eccentricities — and  perhaps  in  part 
because  of  them  and  because  of  his  rugged  strength — Mr. 
Moody  had  a  wide  fame.  He  was  always  a  welcome  preacher 
in  Boston. 

In  Providence,  also,  he  was  instrumental  in  forming  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  and  the  people  there  wanted 
him  to  become  their  pastor,  but  York  could  not  spare  him. 
Father  Moody  was  a  friend  of  Whitefield  and  gladly  wel- 
comed the  great  preacher  when  he  came  to  York.  Mr. 
Moody's  gift  in  prayer  was  regarded  as  remarkable. 

It  was  believed  that  one  of  his  prayers  was  instrumental  in 
obtaining  the  destruction  of  the  French  fleet  in  1746. 

Colonel  Dummer  Sewall,  of  Bath,  but  a  native  of  York, 
said  of  this  prayer:  "Yes — I  recollect  it — though  I  was  quite 
young.  I  remember  the  consternation  that  was  depicted  on 
almost  every  countenance.  But  we  had  recourse  to  prayer. 
The  Church  in  York  appointed  a  day  for  the  purpose.  On 
that  occasion  Father  Moody,  in  praying  against  the  fleet, 
brought  to  view  the  expression  made  use  of  in  the  Scriptures 
with  regard  to  Sennacherib,  "Put  a  hook  in  his  nose,  and  a 
bridle  in  his  lips,  turn  him  back  again  by  the  way  that  he 
came,  that  he  shall  not  shoot  an  arrow  here,  nor  cast  up  a 
bank,  but  by  the  way  that  he  came,  cause  him  to  return." 
By  and  by  the  old  gentleman  waxed  warm  and  raised  his 
hands  and  voice  and  cried  out — "Good  I^ord,  if  there  is  no 

129 


TWO    HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

other  way  of  defeating  their  enterprise,  send  a  storm  upon 
them,  and  sink  them  in  the  deep." 

It  was  afterward  discovered  that  not  far  from  the  time  of 
this  prayer  a  tremendous  storm  burst  upon  the  enemy's  fleet 
and  occasioned  its  destruction. 

Father  Moody  was  of  heroic  mould,  and  when  seventy 
years  old,  only  two  years  before  his  death,  he  went  with  the 
American  army  as  chaplain  in  the  Cape  Breton  expedition 
that  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Louisburg  from  the  French. 
After  the  capture  of  the  place,  Sir  William  Pepperrell  gave  a 
dinner,  and  Father  Moody  was  invited  to  return  thanks, 
although  many  were  afraid  that  he  would  consume  too  much 
time  in  asking  the  blessing,  so  that  the  dinner  would  get 
cold,  and  the  British  officers  invited  become  offended. 

But  to  the  surprise  and  delight  of  all,  Father  Moody 
delivered  himself  of  this  brief  and  appropriate  grace,  "O 
Lord,  we  have  so  many  things  to  thank  thee  for  that  time 
will  be  infinitely  too  short  to  do  it ;  we  must  therefore  leave 
it  for  the  work  of  eternity.  Bless  our  food  and  fellowship  on 
this  joyful  occasion,  for  Christ's  sake,  Amen." 

The  old  minister  returned  in  health  from  this  expedition, 
and  resumed  his  labors  with  his  people,  but  his  work  was 
nearly  over,  and  two  years  later,  in  1747,  he  fell  asleep, 
while  he  rested  in  the  arms  of  his  son  Joseph,  the  first  minis- 
ter of  the  second  or  "Scotland"  parish. 

I  have  given  a  great  deal  of  time  to  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Moody,  and  I  might  easily  have  devoted  all  the  time  allowed 
me  this  evening  to  a  sketch  of  him  and  his  work,  as  there  is 
more  material  concerning  him  than  of  any  other  man  in  the 
pastoral  succession  here.  And  the  work  accomplished  by 
Father    Moody  deserves   especial   mention,   because  of    its 

130 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF    YORK,    MAINE. 


achievements,  and  because  of  his  own  wide  fame.  Samuel 
Moody  came  to  a  weakened  and  discouraged  settlement  and 
to  a  feeble  church.  When  he  died  he  left  a  prosperous  com- 
munity and  a  church  of  over  three  hundred  members,  the 
largest  then  existing  in  Maine. 

He  saw  powerful  rivivals  during  his  ministry,  and  he  wel- 
comed them.  But  he  also  recognized  the  fa<5l  that  religion  is 
more  than  an  emotion,  and  he  earnestly  sought  to  develop 
strong  Christian  characters  among  his  people.  His  success 
was  great  if  we  are  to  measure  it  simply  by  the  change  which 
transformed  what  has  been  described  as  a  largely  irreligious 
community  into  one  where  it  was  rare  to  find  a  family  where 
prayer  was  not  observed.  The  appreciation  in  which  Rev. 
Samuel  Moody  was  held  is  summed  up  in  the  well-known 
epitaph  on  his  tombstone  as  he  sleeps  in  "God's  Acre" 
across  the  way:  "Here  lies  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Moody,  A.  M.  The  zealous,  faithful,  and  successful  pastor 
of  the  First  Church  of  Christ,  in  York.  Was  born  in  New- 
bury, January  4th,  1675.  Graduated  1697.  Came  hither 
May  16th,  1698.  Ordained  in  December,  1700,  and  died 
here  November  13th,  1747.  For  his  further  character,  read 
the  2d  Corinthians,  3rd  chapter  and  first  six  verses."  Before 
turning  from  the  story  of  Mr.  Moody  it  should  be  said  that 
he  was  the  ancestor  of  many  who  are  still  resident  in  York 
bearing  the  Moody  name,  and  of  many  of  other  names ;  and 
also  that  he  was  the  spiritual  father  of  a  much  larger  num- 
ber. 

The  people  of  York  seem  to  have  been  in  no  haste  in 
securing  the  successor  of  Father  Moody,  for  it  was  more  than 
two  years  after  his  death  when  the  Rev.  Isaac  Lyman  was 
ordained  as  the  third  pastor  of  this  church,  Dec.  20,  1749. 

131 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

Mr.  Lyman  was  a  young  man,  a  native  of  Northampton, 
Mass.,  where  the  name  of  Lyman  still  continues  to  be  one 
of  the  most  honored.  Isaac  Lyman,  unlike  his  two  prede- 
cessors, was  not  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  but  of  Yale.  His 
ministry  here  was  a  long  and  faithful  one.  For  more  than 
sixty  years  he  was  known  as  the  pastor  of  this  church, 
although  during  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life  he 
had  a  colleague.  He  was  evidently  a  man  of  very  different 
type  from  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Moody,  but  the  record  is 
that  "Mr.  Lyman  ever  sustained  the  character  of  a  faith- 
ful minister  of  Christ."  His  labors  were  successful.  It  is 
recorded  that  in  1756  when  he  had  been  seven  years  pastor, 
the  town  was  visited  by  a  revival  of  religion. 

"The  great  earthquake  in  November,  1755,  was  a  means  of 
awakening  the  attention  of  a  great  number.  As  the  fruits  of 
this  revival  about  forty  persons  united  with  the  church."  It 
is  also  a  matter  of  record  that  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Lyman's 
long  ministry,  "he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  people 
united  and  profited  by  his  labors."  "They  regarded  him," 
it  is  said,  "with  the  veneration  of  a  beloved  father,"  and 
when  he  had  been  gathered  to  his  rest  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hemmen- 
way,  of  Wells,  preached  his  funeral  sermon  and  paid  a  high 
tribute  to  his  character.  Rev.  Mr.  Lyman  was  the  father  of 
nine  children. 

An  aged  woman,  still  living  in  York,  told  me  recently  that 
she  had  a  clear  memory  of  Madame  Lyman,  who  was  living 
at  an  advanced  age  when  this  woman  was  a  little  school- 
girl. 

Although  Lyman,  as  a  family  name,  has  disappeared  from 
York,  the  reverend  pastor  has  many  descendants  here  who 
bear  other  names. 

132 


OF   THE    TOWN    OF   YORK,    MAINE. 


President  Eliot,  of  Harvard  University,  is  a  great-grand- 
son of  Isaac  Lyman. 

The  house  until  recently  occupied  by  Miss  Almira  Allen, 
was  built  for  Mr.  Lyman. 

The  pastorate  of  Isaac  Lyman  was  the  longest  ever  known 
in  York.  Then  followed  the  shorter  pastorates  ;  first,  of  his 
colleague  and  successor,  Rev.  Roswell  Messinger,  for  nearly 
fifteen  years.  Moses  Dow,  fourteen  years.  During  Mr. 
Dow's  pastorate  there  was  a  division  which  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  Rev.  Eber  Carpenter  fol- 
lowed Mr.  Dow.  His  was  a  strong  character,  and  he  gained 
such  a  hold  on  the  regard  of  many  of  the  parishioners  in  his 
pastorate,  five  and  a  half  years,  that  several  children  were 
named  for  him. 

Mr.  Carpenter  married  a  Lyman,  and  his  body  lies  in  the 
Lyman  lot  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Grant  farm.  Rev. 
John  Haven  followed  Mr.  Carpenter  with  a  pastorate  of  four 
years.  His  wife,  dying  here,  was  the  first  to  be  buried  in 
what  was  then  the  "new"  cemetery. 

Then  came  Rev.  John  L.  Ashby,  and  he  remained  here 
nearly  eight  years.  Rev.  William  J.  Newman  succeeded 
Mr.  Ashby,  and  died  greatly  beloved  after  a  brief  ministry 
of  nine  months.  The  Rev.  John  Smith,  represented  here 
tonight  by  his  son,  Mr.  Walter  M.  Smith,  and  by  two  daugh- 
ters, was  settled  over  this  church  October  9,  1850,  and  dis- 
missed at  his  own  request,  on  account  of  the  ill  health  of 
Mrs.  Smith,  March  20th,  1855.  This  was  Rev.  Mr.  Smith's 
last  settled  pastorate.  He  is  said  to  have  excelled  as  a  pas- 
tor, and  his  departure  was  regretted. 

Rev.  William  A.  Patten  succeeded  Mr.  Smith  with  a  three 
years'  ministry.     Mr.  Patten's  pastorate  occurred  at  a  stir- 

133 


TWO   HUNDRED   AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 

ring  period,  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  Mr. 
Patten  still  abides  in  his  native  town  of  Kingston,  N.  H.,  in 
a  vigorous  and  honored  old  age.  Until  quite  recently  it 
might  have  been  said  of  him  that  "his  eye  was  not  dim,  nor 
his  natural  force  abated." 

After  Mr.  Patten  came  Rev.  Rufus  M.  Sawyer,  who  is 
recorded  as  "stated  supply"  from  October  ist,  1861,  till  mid- 
summer, 1866.  The  name  of  Mr.  Sawyer  is  a  precious  mem- 
ory to  many  among  us.  His  pastorate  about  covered  the 
period  of  the  Civil  War,  and  there  was  no  question  of  his 
patriotism.  Neither  was  there  any  question  of  his  devotion 
as  a  minister.  A  revival  of  religion,  still  remembered,  some 
of  whose  fruits  have  been  a  blessing  to  the  church  ever  since, 
distinguished  his  pastorate. 

Rev.  John  Parsons  succeeded  Mr.  Sawyer  in  a  brief  pas- 
torate of  two  years  and  a  half.  On  September  28th,  1870, 
Rev.  Benjamin  W.  Pond  was  installed  pastor,  serving  the 
church  from  May,  1870,  until  September,  1873. 

Rev.  David  B.  Sewall  followed  Mr.  Pond  in  a  pastorate  of 
fourteen  and  a  half  years.  Mr.  Sewall,  in  his  honored  and 
useful  old  age,  is  always  a  most  welcome  visitor  in  his  former 
parish. 

The  successors  of  Mr.  Sewall  in  the  pastorate  have  been 
the  Rev.  Geo.  M.  Woodwell  and  the  Rev.  Melvin  J.  Allen, 
prior  to  the  coming  of  the  present  pastor.  The  pastorates  of 
both  Mr.  Woodwell  and  Mr.  Allen  have  been  so  recent  that 
they  need  no  words  of  mine  to  describe  them  to  their  friends 
and  late  parishioners. 

It  was  the  early  practice  of  the  church  to  ordain  elders,  but 
I  have  seen  no  list  of  names.  Many  names  have  been 
honored    among   the  clerks  and  deacons  and  other  officers 

i34 


OF  THE  TOWN  OF  YORK,  MAINE. 


connected  with  the  church  and  parish.  Comparisons  among 
these  names  would  be  indeed  invidious,  and  the  fear  of  omit- 
ting some  deservedly  cherished  restrains  me  from  mention- 
ing any.  It  should  be  remembered  that  imperfect  or  missing 
records  prevent  the  making  of  the  complete  history  or  even 
sketch  that  we  would  like  to  give. 

The  history  of  the  First  Church  and  Parish  of  York  is  one 
well  worth  a  better  treatment  than  I  have  been  able  to  give 
to  it  in  the  brief  time  allowed  for  preparation.  But  the  town 
of  York  has  been  a  better  and  happier  town  because  of  the 
true  and  noble  lives  that  have  been  nurtured  under  the 
influences  in  its  First  Church  of  Christ.  It  is  fitting  that  I 
add  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  Second  or  "Scotland" 
Church  in  the  "Upper  Parish."  This  parish  was  formed  in 
1732,  when  the  first  minister,  Rev.  Joseph  Moody,  was 
ordained.  I  said  at  the  beginning  of  this  address  that  the 
Second  Church  was  the  true  child  of  the  First  Church.  The 
relationship  was  certainly  very  close,  for  the  first  member- 
ship was  composed  of  those  who  had  been  parishioners  of  this 
church. 

The  first  pastor,  too,  was  the  gifted  son  of  Father  Moody. 
Bright,  indeed,  must  have  seemed  the  prospects  of  the  new 
church  and  the  newly  ordained  pastor.  None  could  foresee 
that  after  a  period  of  about  six  years  the  brilliant  mind  of  the 
minister  would  ever  afterward  be  clouded,  but  so  it  came  to 
pass  that  Rev.  Joseph  Moody  came  to  be  locally  known  as 
"Handkerchief  Moody,"  and  more  widely  as  Hawthorne's 
"Veiled  Parson."  This  man  in  spite  of  his  mental  infirmity 
was  like  his  father,  remarkably  gifted  in  prayer.  His  famous 
long  prayer  in  the  First  Church  while  his  father  was  absent 
on  the  Iyouisburg  campaign  was  found  to  have  been  coinci- 

i35 


TWO   HUNDRED    AND    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY. 

dent  with  the  battle.  And  was  it  an  accident  that  in  the 
midst  of  that  long  petition  Joseph  Moody's  entreaties  were 
turned  to  thanksgiving  as  though  he  saw  the  victory 
achieved  ? 

The  "Scotland"  Church  has  had  a  long  and  useful  history. 
Good  men  have  occupied  its  pulpit — no  less  than  fourteen 
pastors — and  three  others  enrolled  as  "supplies"  having 
served  there.  The  name  best  known  after  that  of  Moody  is 
L,ankton.  Father  L,ankton's  memory  is  cherished  by  many 
who  are  his  descendants  living  in  this  town  and  its  vicinity. 
But  it  is  because  there  has  been  a  true  "apostolic  succession" 
in  the  ministry  of  these  two  historic  churches  that  they  still 
live  and  seek  to  glorify  the  name  of  Him  who  is  their  Lord 
and  Master. 


136 


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